Elvin Child
by labarynth-mind
Summary: AU:What if Petunia Dursley didn't take Harry that night?and he was sent to an orphanage?This is SLASH. If you don't like it then don't read it.RLHP
1. Default Chapter

OOOH! My first try at AU! Lets all watch me crash and burn! Whee! Ok. Here's the deal. I'm not too sure on pairing yet except that there will be ron/hermionie. Other than that… Well, lemme put it this way, Harry will probly be with a dude. Yes it will be slash, unless thousands of my replies bitch about him being with a girl then I might re-consider… So that means, yes. You can suggest a pairing in your comments. BUT! If I get one flame from you about slash! You will SO feel my wrath… damn homophobes… moving on. DISCLAIMER!

Disclaimer: I don't own crap so put your lawyers back in their cages. Harry Potter belongs to the lovely and talented JK Rowling! TADA! **sparkles!** Ha…HAHA. My sister just asked my why there were sparkles.. and to that I say: "why not? Sparkles rock. Sod off."

&HP&

Minerva Mcgonagall stood silently in the shadows on Privet Drive on a cold Halloween night. An icy breeze rushed by her, causing her to pull her dark emerald green cloak tighter around her thin frame. Suddenly, Albus Dumbledore stepped into view, the breeze throwing multi colored leaves around his feet in a sort of chaotic dance.

"Albus… Are the stories true?" Minerva asked quickly, stepping up to her long time friend and co-worker. Albus took a moment to regard her through half-moon glasses and solem blue eyes.

"Yes Minerva… Lily and James Potter are dead…" He responded softly, Minerva's eyes fell to the ground sadly; She had known Lily and James Potter since they were mere first years. She had watched them grow and change; now they were dead. Such things always came as a shock, but Minerva had other questions.

"And the boy Albus? What of him? Are those stories true?" Once again Albus regarded her through those trademark glasses and sad blue eyes, only this time he had a small bittersweet smile on his lips.

"Yes Minerva, young Harry is alive… And Voldemort is gone." Minerva felt joy spread through her body and she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She smiled at the Headmaster.

"Where is he?"

"Hagrid is taking him." Minerva started.

"Albus, are you sure it's wise to trust Hagrid with this?" Albus smiled at her once again and nodded his head.

"Minerva… I would trust Hagrid with my life." Then, as if just on cue, a large flying motorcycle came lumbering out of the sky carrying an even larger man. The man got off and handed Albus a small bundle of blankets. "I trust everything went well?"

"Ay. The lil tyke fell asleep bout when we were flyin over Bristol." The Large man said through a thick Scottish accent. Albus set the bundle on the doorstep of no.4 Privet Drive with a small elegantly written note. A sniff was heard behind him and he turned to see Hagrid wiping his tearing eyes with his sleeve.

"Now now Hagrid… Don't be upset… It's not really goodbye after all… We will see him in ten years…" And with that Albus Dumbledore disappeared with a small pop, Minerva cast a worried glance at the small bundle that was Harry Potter and turned to leave, she transformed into a large tabby cat and was off. The large man known as Hagrid looked down at the bundle with wet eyes.

"Don worry lil tyke… I'll see ya in ten years… Good luck…" He whispered into the dark, right before he hopped on his flying motorcycle and flew off into the sky. What he didn't know, what none of them knew, was that they would not see Harry Potter in ten years. They wouldn't see him in eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen or even fifteen years. What they didn't know is that Harry Potter would disappear completely for quite a while.

&HP&

Harry Potter was three-years-old, he had messy black hair and bright green eyes that would put any emerald to shame. He lived in the St. Michel orphanage in Scotland, he's lived there ever since his aunt put him there when he was one-year-old. From what he understood, his parents died in a car crash when he was young and he was left on the front porch of his aunt's house. When she found him the next morning she immediately sent him here. So here he went and here he stayed. Harry was a quiet shy boy, mainly because the other kids teased him endlessly. He was teased for his messy hair, he was teased for his oversized glasses, and he was teased for the odd scar on his forehead that was shaped like a lightning bolt. Harry Potter was a quiet shy boy, simply because Harry Potter was not a happy boy. Harry was currently sitting out in the snow, shivering and pulling his raggedy gray pullover to his too small body. He had been banging on the doors, trying to be let in, but no one heard him. The other kids had all locked him out, and none of the nuns could hear him over the ruckus. It was Christmas Eve, they were having their annual Christmas party, and they had snacks, music, and drinks. Parents had all come too; parents looking to adopt were here to "scout out" if you will. Harry stood and walked to a window near by, he stood up on his tippy-toes and wiped the frost off the glass with his hole-ridden sleeve. He peeked inside with bright green eyes and surveyed the room. There was a big roaring fire and possible parents all around, Harry sighed to himself.

"I guess this will be another Christmas all alone…" He muttered sadly and he plopped back onto the front step. His head shot up when he heard a rustling coming from the bushes just on the edge of the forest just by the orphanage. 'Don't be a wolf. Don't be a wolf. Don't be a wolf. Don't- oh poo.' Harry thought to himself as the thing emerged to reveal a _very_ large wolf. Harry sat very still and stared at the lumbering creature with impossibly large eyes, he could hear his heart beating in his ears as it came closer and closer. Then it was right in front of him, and it was staring… Just staring. Harry may have been only three but he could tell that the wolf was regarding him in such a way that was far too human. The wolf began to sniff him on his neck and ribs, causing Harry to giggle dispite his fear. The wolf's large head shot up at the sound of Harry's giggle, causing Harry to stop imeadiently and gulp. Then the wolf did the most un-expected thing, it wagged its tail. The wolf wagged its tail and gave Harry a large wet lick across the cheek. Harry sat there awkwardly, trying to process all this in his three-year-old brain. Suddenly there was another noise from the forest, the wolf turned to the sound and yipped happily.

"Artemis? Where are you?" The noise asked, then the noise appeared. Harry's mouth dropped, the figure emerging from the forest was a man… Or he thought; he wasn't too sure he was human. The man was tall and lean; he had waist long brown hair and pointy ears. He wore odd clothing that looked to be from those middle-ages books Harry read, he had a long bow in his hands and an elegant quiver of equally elegant arrows strapped to his back. The man started when he saw Harry sitting in the snow next to the wolf. He began to walk cautiously forward and Harry noted that he seemed to give off a sort of glow. The man was soon close enough to see his ice blue eyes; he stopped and peered down at the wolf that let out a yip. Harry finally managed to close his mouth when the man spoke. "Who are you?" He asked.

"I.. Ehm… I'm Harry Potter sir…" The man looked visibly surprised to hear Harry's name but Harry didn't seem to notice. "Are you an angel?" He whispered in awe, immediately regretting it when the man chuckled, he blushed and looked down. The man sat down in the snow next to Harry.

"No, I'm not an angel, I'm an elf. My name is Aeson, this is Artemis." He said gesturing to the wolf. "What are you doing out in the snow, there looks to be a celebration of sorts inside." Harry, blinked up and him and sighed.

"The other kids locked me out. And the party is the annual Christmas party; there are couples there and everything. I guess I'm just not gonna have a family for Christmas again…" He responded sadly. There was a long pause before the elf spoke.

"Well Harry Potter… Would you like to meet my family?" Aeson asked kindly, Harry's head shot up.

"Really! Ya mean it! You mean you'd let me!" He squealed in such a way only a very excited three-year-old could do. "Well… The nuns told me never to go with strangers though…" He added, glancing at the window. There was another pause and the elf smiled.

"Well, you know my name… So am I really a stranger?" He asked. Harry bit his lip as he thought. It was almost too good to be true, so he decided to go with it. He nodded his head and Aeson stood up, picking him up into his arms. They both set off into the forest, the last thing to be heard was Harry's voice.

"Are you really an elf? I heard that magic is fake." He chirped from his new friends arms, the man laughed and shook his head.

"You have much to learn young Harry." And in that instant, Harry Potter disappeared.

&HP&

WHEW! The prologue is done! Whoohoo! I'm gonna do a lot of time jumping next chapter. It's gonna jump to when Harry is 11 to when he is 17. So tell me! Liked it? Loved it? I NEED TO KNOW!


	2. 8 years later

Hm. Second chapter… not much to say… hm….. Ok then

Disclaimer: I don't own anything; JK Rowling is the one who wrote Harry Potter. If you didn't know that you must have lived under a rock for many years. And why are you reading hp fan fiction anyways?

&HP&

…_8 years later (Harry is 11)…_

Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office humming a small tune to his phoenix Fawks. Still humming, he popped a lemon drop into his mouth. He closed his sparkling blue eyes in content; Albus Dumbledore was a man who appreciated the smaller things in life. He enjoyed his sweet-sour candies; he enjoyed the family of sparrows that nested outside his window. At almost any moment in the day you could find Albus sitting at a window watching the people outside the castle. He loved to watch the simple trivial things people did on a daily basis, 'Humans…Such odd creatures…' He would think to himself. Albus opened his eyes as his grounds keeper Hagrid came bursting into his office. Albus wondered what was wrong, and why he was back so soon. He had sent Hagrid to go fetch young Harry Potter from his aunt and uncles house after he had yet to answer any of his Hogwarts letters.

"Hagrid, hello! Would you like some tea? A lemon drop perhaps? Please, take a seat." He greeted calmly, his voice not betraying to the many questions he had.

"Eh, no lemon drops, sir." Hagrid answered, he remained standing, a worried look in his eyes.

'Ah, well that's fine. More for me!' Albus thought, popping yet another lemon drops in his mouth. "Hagrid, what troubles you so? What of young Mr. Potter?" At these words Hagrid sighed.

" 'E wasn't there, sir." Albus perked up instantly. "That no good family of 'is dumped 'im in an orphanage as soon as they found 'im" He finished, anger in his voice as he spoke of the Dursleys. Albus sighed and looked out the window, smiling a bit as he saw the family of sparrows fly by. He looked back at Hagrid.

"Do you know of which orphanage it was?" He let out a relieved sigh when the Half Giant nodded.

"St. Michael's. Just on the edge o Scotland, funny that' 'e's been so near by all these years." Albus smiled at him, and nodded his head.

"Yes it is. Perhaps he lived better in the orphanage, I had no idea the Dursleys held such little care of him. I hope the move was for the best. Now, I must contact Severus and Minerva." The wise old man stood and walked over to the fire, he tossed in a handful of power and stuck his head in the emerald flames. Severus, Minerva, if you could come to my office please." He returned to his seat, moments later two people came in through the door. "Severus, Minerva, please, have a seat. I have a favor to ask you. Would you like tea or a lemon drop?" They both sat down. Severus declined while Minerva accepted the tea.

"What is this about, Albus?" Minerva asked, taking a sip of her tea.

"It's is about young Mr. Potter." Albus held his hand in silence at Severus' beginning argument. "After he did not reply to his Hogwarts letters I sent Hagrid to fetch him. Upon arriving he discovered that the Dursleys had sent him to the st. Michel's orphanage. I would like to ask you to go there and fetch him yourself. I cannot send Hagrid or go myself due to the fact that we would draw to much attention. You two however would blend in nicely if you donned muggle clothing. So, will you do this for me." He finished and looked between the two. Minerva quickly nodded her head while Severus seemed a bit put out at the idea. Finally, after a bit of internal debate he let out a long sigh.

"Only for you, Albus. I'll go." He muttered angrily, crossing his arms in a way that reminded Albus of a child who didn't get the toy they wanted. He chuckled softly at the thought.

"Right, thank you very much Severus. You too Minerva, Now for your clothes."

&HP&

Severus glowered angrily as they neared the second-rate orphan home. He was wearing a plain black button up shirt and plain black slacks. He could have been worse off, he could have worn the jeans and Hawaiian shirt Albus suggested. Minerva walked besides him in a simple but business-like dark blue dress that went to her ankles. They walked into the orphanage and were met by an elderly nun.

"Well hello! How may I help you? I'm Sister Maria, are you here to adopt?" She said kindly to them. Severus internally flinched at the thought of him and Minerva being a couple, and an adopting couple at that. He had nothing against Minerva; she was just old enough to be his grandmother.

"No, I'm afraid not. I am Minerva McGonagall; this is my associate Severus Snape. We're here to ask you about a certain orphan." Minerva said calmly. The nun smiled and nodded kindly to both of them.

"Yes, of course. Please, come into my office." They both followed her into a small poorly equipped office and sat in the two chairs in front of her desk. "Now, which orphan do you whish to ask about? Also, what is it that you want with them may I ask?"

"Well, Minerva here is the headmistress of a school near by, and I am a teacher at this school. We both knew the boy's parents before he died and it was their wish for him to be enrolled in the school when he was old enough. The headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, has agreed to let him enroll and sent us to tell him and give him his acceptance letter." Severus said dully, he did NOT want to be here. The nun smiled again.

"Yes, how nice. Our orphanage is not the wealthiest, so it is a good day when we are able to give our children to a good education facility such as yours. Which orphan do you want to speak too?"

"His name is Harry Potter, He is eleven. We haven't seen him since he was a baby but he has green eyes and I almost sure he has black hair. Also, he has an odd scar just above his left brow in the shape of a lightning bolt. Is he here?" Minerva asked, Sister Maria's featured darkened and she glanced down to her desk.

"Yes, well… I'm terribly afraid I have some very bad news for you. The boy you spoke of did come to us, but I'm afraid he left us about 8 years ago…" She said sadly. Severus frowned.

"You mean he was adopted?" Sister Maria sighed and shook her head, closing her eyes sadly she continued.

"I'm afraid not. You see the other kids always bullied Harry, and one day on Christmas Eve the other children decided to pull a prank on him. They all locked him outside during our annual Christmas party in which orphans can mingle and meet possible parents. Due to all the distraction of the party none of us noticed that Harry wasn't there, there are so many children and it's often hard to keep tabs on all of them at once. By the time we realized he wasn't there it was too late. We went outside and saw his scarf on the porch; his footprints were in the snow on the porch and around the window. He was not there though. At first we thought that he may have ran away, or gone to try the back door, but upon further inspection we found more tracks. There were wolf tracks leading from the nearby forest to where Harry sat and then leading away.

We didn't want to assume the worse, but when none of the police or us could find him or a body we gave up. I'm afraid that young Harry has been announced dead. He is with God now." There was a resounding silence when Sister Maria finished the story. Neither Albus nor Severus could believe it; the-boy-who- lived was dead.

"I… Yes… That is dreadful news… I'm sorry to have taken your time. Goodbye Sister Maria…" Severus said in a daze, he nodded politely to the nun and stood up. Him and Minerva walked from the orphanage after their goodbyes; Severus looked to his companion and was shocked to see glistening tears rolling down Minerva McGonagall's pale cheeks. Albus would be crushed.

&HP&

Albus was indeed crushed. After he had been told the news he couldn't speak. Severus and Minerva had left him a few minuets ago. Albus now sat at the window of his office, looking out at the school grounds before him with silent tears on his face. His glistening eyes followed a small sparrow from the nest by his window and landed on Professor Sprout who was arguing with a vender from Hogsmade about the price of flowers. He watched as the vender huffed angrily and began to shout and shake the flowerpot in the herbology professor's face. Ms. Sprout grabbed the plant and held it to her chest protectively. Albus smiled a bit through the tears.

"Humans… Such odd creatures…" He murmured softly and sadly. Yes, Albus Dumbledore appreciated the simple things in life. Even in the darkest of times, he could still find a bittersweet smile in a lemon drop or a sparrow's nest.

&&HP&&

Harry Potter was 11-years-old, he had lived with elves in the deepest part of the forbidden forest since he was three. He had quickly been "adopted" by Aeson and his family after that first Christmas Eve. So now he lived with Aeson, his mother Clara, and their other adopted family member Artemis. He soon learned that Artemis was not just an abnormally large wolf like he had previously thought. She was an unusual mix of timber wolf and werewolf. Her mother had been a timber wolf while his father was a werewolf; one night during a full moon Artemis' father had met his mother in the woods. Due to the loss of his human mind had mated with her mother. Then nine mother later her mother had had Artemis with her father being none the wiser. The result of this odd mix was an oddly large wolf with the mind of a human, except on the full moon when she would roam the woods in her full wolf form.

Harry also had other "family". He was a good friend with the lady and lord of the wood, Kr**is**hna and Ares. They were more like an aunt and uncle than his aunt petunia and uncle Vernon could have ever been. Then there was their daughter, Alice. She was like a sister; he was probably closest to her. Harry had been told all about his past when he was old enough, he knew all about magic, what happened to his parents and all about what happened to him. He knew all about his title as the "boy-who-lived" and he knew all about Voldemort. The elves were treating him as his own; they raised him like they raised their own children. He was learning wandless Elvin magic, he was learning to handle a bow and sword, he was learning to fight, and he was now fluent in elfish.

The eleven-year-old wandered aimlessly through the forest, waving to any creature he came across that he knew. Brushing his waist length hair from his face he caused the color to glisten in the light. It was still black, but ever since tapping into his magic in depth he had began to get natural red highlights that were an odd but attractive combination with the black. His eyes had been cured long ago and he no longer wore glasses, so his shocking green eyes were un-hidden now. He wore the normal Elvin clothing in black, and green with gold trim. Harry blinked in surprise when he realized he was very close to the edge of the forest, glancing around cautiously he treaded silently to the very edge. He hopped into a near by tree and peered through the branches, he saw two humans, a plump older woman and a thin angry man with a short messy beard. They were arguing about… Something… Harry shook his head in amusement.

"Humans… Such odd creatures…" He muttered to himself, he looked up to the castle and saw a very old man with snow-white hair and a long beard. He was sitting at the window watching the other two people with a sort of detached amusement. When Harry looked carefully he could see that despite his small smile he was crying. Harry cocked his head like a curious animal as he watched the man. "Wonder what's wrong with him…" He said to himself as he hopped from the tree and began to travel back home.

&HP&

Oh wow! Done! That was kind of a long chapter huh? Well I hope you liked it! By the way, the next chapter will most likely be out soon too, just because the first part I have a good idea of. The others after that may take more time, be warned. Also, the next chapter will jump to Harry when he is 17.


	3. 6 Years later

I'm baaack! Right-o! I have some things to mention before hand… A dear reader who did not sign his review (you know who you are) pointed out something I missed. The first chapter I call the orphan home Harry stayed in "St. Michel's" then the second chapter I called it "St. Michael's"! oopsie! You see for some reason, my evil spell check changed it so St. Michael's in the second chapter without asking me… Or maybe I was too lazy to notice it asking. Eh. But the fact is that the orphan home is called St. Michel's, so people, if you notice a flub like this, feel free to point it out to me. I wont be upset, I'm human.

Disclaimer: YaddaYaddaYadda… You know the drill, I don't own Harry Potter. Calm down.

Oh! And by the way, if you have suggestions for pairing let me know.

&HP&

… _Six years later, (Harry is 17…)_

Remus Lupin walked calmly through the halls of Hogwarts to his office; He neared the plain wooden door and walked in. Sitting at his desk was his best friend, Sirius Black. Sirius had been in Azkaban prison for thirteen years for the supposed betrayal of Remus' other close friends Lily and James Potter. In 1993 He broke out and was said to be hovering near Hogwarts for unknown reasons, that year was incidentally the same year Remus started teaching. It turned out that Sirius hadn't betrayed the Potters but had been framed for the crime by their other friend Peter Pettigrew. Remus had found all this out one night when he had been wandering Hogsmade late one night out for a stroll. He had been walking casually along when he was pulled into an abandoned store by an unknown attacker. When Remus turned he came face to face with the person he thought was a wanted murderer who betrayed them all, to say the least he was pissed. Sirius had him at wand-point so he couldn't do much but hear him out first. Sirius told him about how Peter was really the secret keeper and had been hiding as a pet rat to some boy at Hogwarts for the last 13 years. Remus, being a werewolf, could smell when someone was lying so he knew Sirius was telling the truth. After sorting it all out with Dumbledore and getting Pettigrew from his owner, a third year Griffindor named Ron Weasley, Sirius was free.

"Hey nerd…" Sirius said teasingly from his chair, Remus chuckled and put his bag down on his desk.

"Hello Sirius, making yourself at home I see." The black haired ex-convict smiled cheekily and leaned back in the chair, resting his feet on Remus' desk.

"Well, duh. I AM co-teacher am I not?" Remus sighed in defeat, it was true, Sirius was co-teacher with him. He helped Remus out around the room and took over when Remus was feeling to ill after a full moon. Remus sat down in a chair next to Sirius and looked to see what papers he had been looking at. His face fell when he saw that Sirius was looking at his old photo album, the page open to a photo of him, Remus, James and baby Harry all sitting on the couch on Christmas. James had his arm around Remus and they both held their glasses of eggnog in a "cheers" pose, smiling brightly. Sirius was sitting on the arm of the couch with Harry in his lap, taking his tiny hands to make him wave. They all looked so happy, and slightly drunk, with their festive yet somewhat tame green and red clothes and the colorful paper crowns on their heads.(1) none of them knew that that would be their last Christmas all together. "I miss them, Moony…" He heard Sirius say softly, Remus sighed. He did too, but it was worse for Sirius when he found out about Harry. Being Harry's godfather Sirius had always loved Harry to death, not to mention that while in Azkaban Sirius had no way to know that Harry had been lost and announced dead, it came as quite a nasty shock. Remus still remembered.

/Flashback…

_"Yes Moony! I'm free! I still can't believe it!" Sirius yelled happily in the living room of Remus' cottage. Remus laughed and gave his virtual brother a hug._

_"Neither can I Sirius! I'm so sorry I ever doubted you. I should have never…" Remus broke off, looking at the ground in shame. Sirius sighed and rested his hand on Remus' shoulder._

_"Moony, it's ok… With all the evidence it's to be expected. Honestly I don't know what I would have thought if our roles reversed. Tell you what; if you forgive me for thinking you were the spy… I'll forgive you for thinking you were…" Remus looked up at Sirius and smiled._

_"It's a deal. So, what do you want to do with your newfound freedom Mr. Black?" Remus asked, bringing the earlier light mood back, for now at least, it would not last long._

_"Well, Mr. Lupin! First I plan to get my godson, then I plan on taking you and him out on the town for dinner!" He said with a bright smile, a smile that quickly faded. With one look at his friend's grief-stricken face and tear-glossed eyes he knew something was wrong. "Remus? What? Is it? Do you think Harry won't want to live with me? Does he believe I'm innocent?" Remus let out a small sound and led Sirius over to the sofa._

_"Sirius, you should sit down for this," He said calmly, continuing when Sirius sat down. "You know about how Harry was going to be sent to the Dursley's if you didn't take custody?" Sirius nodded. "Well… He went there but they didn't want him… They sent him to an orphanage in Scotland…" Sirius stood up quickly, _

_"What! How dare they! I swear! If I ever get my hands on them I'll-" He was pulled back down onto the couch._

_"Sirius that's not all… When Severus and Minerva went to fetch him they got terrible news. When Harry was three he was locked outside one Christmas by some other kids who bullied him. There was a party going on inside so it took a while for anyone to notice he was gone. When they went outside they found him gone and wolf tracks leading from where he was to the forest. They searched and searched but never found him…" Remus closed his eyes and a tear rolled down his cheek. "Harry has been pronounced dead for almost six years now." He finished sadly. For many moments he heard nothing, he opened his eyes to see how Sirius was reacting. He was faced with Sirius looking awful. The pale mans face was stricken with tears and he was staring at Remus with utter shock and pain on his face, his body shaking ever so sightly. Then without warning he collapsed into his friend's arms, dissolving into violent sobs. Remus held him close and let him cry, He knew how much it must have hurt… He knew how much it had hurt him…._

/End flashback…

Remus looked to his friend with a sad smile.

"So do I Padfoot… But maybe they're all together somewhere now. James, Lily, Harry… They could all be happy together, watching us…" Sirius smiled sadly but brightly at the thought. He gave a nod and wiped the tears from his face.

"You're right Moony… Lets go, there's a quidditch game in three minutes." He said as he stood up. Remus nodded and stood as well, they both headed out the door.

/HP

Not to far away, in the Forbidden Forest…

Harry Potter was 17-years-old, he had changed since that faithful day on Christmas Eve when he was three. His black (and now lightly red highlighted) hair was long and shiny, down to about his waist. His skin was pale and flawless except the one lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. Amazing green eyes stared hauntingly at you in a cat-like, alluring slant, peering through thick black lashes, Living with the elves seemed to have given him some of their qualities. He had Elvin like grace and a lean, tall, yet well toned body. He had a long neck and full lips. As a whole, Harry Potter was gorgeous, but being the way he was, he was completely oblivious to this fact, no doubt fuelled by the fact that beauty was normality to the Elvin race. Harry was currently sitting by a small river, watching the fish go by in a bored yet serene manner. That serenity was broken when a figure busted through the bushed behind him and fell to their knees by his resting place. Without even looking up he knew who it was, what he was curious about was what she wanted.

"Hello Alice…" He said calmly, eyes still trained dully on the fish before him, without looking he could tell that she was wearing a large excited grin.

"Hey Harry! You have got to come see this!" She chirped happily to him, tugging on his arm for added effect. Smirking Harry looked up at her. Alice's bright blue eyes were alight with mischief, her pale blonde hair was tucked loosely behind her pointed ears and she did indeed wear that large grin she was known for.

"See what exactly?" He responded emptily, knowing his lack of movement and enthusiasm was annoying the Elvin girl. She let out a humph and lost her grin for a bit.

"They're doing it again! The screaming thing! Where they're flying and stuff!" She said quickly waving her arms in the air for good measure. Harry had to smile at this. Alice and Harry both shared many common interests, none as much as "human watching." Much to their parents and guardians irritation they loved to venture to the very edges of their forest and watch all the goings ons at the school near by. They loved to watch all the students and teachers go about their lives doing one odd human thing after another. They knew each teacher and almost all the students by appearance and even by name. Well, not their real names of corse. They never got close enough to hear their names, they did know the groundskeeper Hagrid's name, simply because the centaurs spoke of him often. Harry and Alice had made up names for each of them.

The thing Alice was talking about, the "screaming thing, where they fly around and stuff" was an often phenomenon. It was when several students would hop on brooms and fly around hitting each other and trying to get a big red ball thing into hoops that sat on either side of the valley place they flew in. Then all the other students not flying would line the valleys walls and scream a lot until some boy with a very loud voice who told what was going on would say that someone caught the… eh… snip… or snitch or something. All in all the display confused Alice and Harry to no end, but at the same time was terribly entertaining. They enjoyed watching the people fly around and had lots of fun making guesses at what they were doing. Harry stood up; he didn't want to miss this.

"Well then, we should go shouldn't we?" He asked as he grabbed his bow and ran off to the edge of the forest. He laughed when he heard Alice curse him from back at the river and run after him.

&HP&

Soon they were both at the very end of their home, they found a good tree and hopped into it. They settled onto the branches and peered through the leaves to look at the large wooden valley of screaming. Harry tilted his head and watched as some people in red threw the little ball into the hoop, right by a person in green.

"What in the nine hells are they doing?" He asked with a curious and slightly annoyed tone, as the screaming from the red section got louder. Alice laughed and leaned against the trunk.

"Maybe we never stay long enough… Maybe this is just a… Warm up thing. And after we leave the real show starts. It would be like from that muggle book we have, Cesar. After we leave the red and green people get off their brooms and fight to the death, like gladiators." She suggested, obviously joking.

"Maybe, and Bumblebee acts of emperor." He said with a laugh and a nod to a tall and very old man with a long white beard and half moon glasses. "You know… Choosing who stays and who goes." Alice laughed and looked at him. Harry looked at her as well and they both gave the thumbs down sign, proclaiming the words "To the lions!" Simultaneously in official sounding voices, they both broke into laughter and turned back to the "valley".

"Whatever they're doing they sure can make a lot of noise can't they?" Harry chuckled and nodded in agreement. His piercing green eyes scanned the crowd and fell upon two people near Bumblebee. They were Loup and shadow. Loup was a tall man with long brown-ish blonde hair with silver stress streaks in it. He had gold or brown eyes (Harry was never close enough to tell) and a kind face. He got his name from the fact that he was a werewolf, as Artemis told them, and the word for wolf in French was Loup. Shadow was a pale man with long black hair and blue eyes, he was named for the animagus form Alice and Harry had seen him use which was a large black dog that made them think of the shadows. Harry never knew why but it felt as if he knew them, had seen them before. It may have been normal paranoia but they were extremely familiar. The man known as Bumblebee was named for his obvious love of sweets. They could always find him eating some kind of candy. Then they could always hear him humming, so often in fact that it was like the buzzing of a bee. His examination was broken off by a frustrated growl form the ground below. Alice and him both looked down quickly and found a very angry half werewolf looking up at them. They shared a look and climbed down to meet Artemis.

"Hey Arti, what's up?" Alice asked nervously, wearing a sheepish smile identical to Harry's. Artemis rolled his golden eyes and let out a whine/growl. "Yeah… I know… I know…" Alice responded. After so many years living with Artemis Harry and the others learned to interrupt what she was saying. Almost like she was talking to them directly. Artemis gave them a look that said, "You know what young lady? I want to hear YOU say it." Alice sighed, crossing her arms stubbornly. Harry decided to answer.

"Well, we aren't supposed to come out here to close to the edge. We can't get caught, elves are supposed to be stealthy and un-known." He said in a mechanical voice suggesting that he had simply heard it so much that he memorized it, which happened to be the case. Artemis seemed to think that was good enough and began herding them back into the forest; Harry cast a glance over his shoulder at the screaming and continued on his way.

&HP&

(!) In England it's an old tradition to wear paper crowns on Christmas, for all of you who didn't know.

OMG CHAPTER DONE! WHAT DID YOU THINK!


	4. The encounter

Oh. My. Goodness. Wow…. I post at like… nine something at night, check at 7 the next morning and have five freaking reviews already! Whee! I feel loved! So I'm up dating. See this? More reviews more up-dates. See how it works? Good, now take the hint. **Wink wink.** Ehem. Here's what I've decided for the pairing from my reviews: Harry/Remus. If you don't like it or have a beef with it tell me, in a CIVILIZED manner if you please. Thank you. Answers to review questions:

SeventhSpanishAngel12: yes. Harry will return, in fact. He comes close in this chapter. But that's all I'm saying.

Aticia: oh, I like that quote a lot. And I know I jumped into the future quite a bit, but that's over now. I don't plan on doing much more time jumping, the thing was that nothing of great interest happened over those left out years that I could write about.

Psicat: Actually I was thinking that Harry and Alice would be close in a way that suggested that the only thing stopping them from being siblings was blood. And the lack of constant

bickering of corse. **Glares at the door to my sister's room.** She devil. Eh! Sorry!

Wild KS Pheonix: Actually he does know he's a wizard, he knows all about the boy-who-lived stuff and Voldemort. It's just that he grew up with the elves and sees no reason to leave.

FairyQuilan: Yes, elves are well hidden; no one even knows that elves live in the forest, not even Dumbledore. And he is quite yummy isn't he?

I Like Boats: OMG! I know and I'm sooo sorry! I am indeed an absolute grammatical retard! HELP!

! LOOK HERE! READ THIS ! OK, now that I have your attention… as " I like boats" said in his review. I can't do the grammar thing worth shit! So I need need NEED beta! If you're interested or know someone, then please tell me. Tell me and be sure to give me your email address. Thank you!

Disclaimer: no I'm—oh wait… waaaait… OH WOW I AM! I'M--- oh, no sorry, false alarm. I'm not J.K. Rowling, I don't own Harry Potter. Get over it.

&HP&

When Alice and Harry had returned to their houses they got quite a tongue lashing from all of their guardians and/or parents. They were warned about being out of sight, they were chastised for playing a gamble and sneaking off. So it was common sense that you would find both Alice and Harry talking casually in a tree just on the edge of the forest, as they watched the humans run about and relax on the sunny Sunday afternoon that followed. They were sitting in a oak with heavy dark foliage they could blend into well but still see out of fine that sat near the giant lake most of the students sat around.

"Do you think any of them have the slightest idea that we're up here?" Alice asked, Harry rolled his eyes.

"I highly doubt that, Ally." Harry replied dully, eyes trained on Loup and Shadow, whom sat near the castle walls talking with each other. He just KNEW he knew them. Alice looked at him and followed his eyes to the two men. She got an evil smirk and rested her head on the branch in front of her.

"Loup and Shadow… You watch them a lot… Any particular reason?" She inquired innocently; Harry narrowed his eyes in thought.

"Well, it's just that… Ugh, this is going to sound odd but I swear that I know them from somewhere! They're so familiar…" Harry let out a huff of air and inspected both men closely. Looking up when he heard Alice snicker he got a bad feeling. "What?"

"Well... Are you sure you don't like watching them because of your mad crush on Loup?" He said in one breath with an evil glint in her eyes. Harry choked on the breath he had just taken in and blushed deeply.

"Sod you! That was ages ago!" He said angrily, using a furious whisper to emphasize his point but stay quiet. Alice grinned.

"Yeah… Right… You were how old? Thirteen?" She teased, continuing at Harry's embarrassed nod. "Right, well, if I recall it was quite a crush. Are you sure you just… Got over it?" She knew she was pushing it and she didn't care. Harry had indeed had a huge crush on Loup when he was thirteen. Alice thought it was adorable and insisted that Harry must still have a little bit of a crush left at least. Harry blushed again and looked out at the handsome brown haired werewolf.

"I… Maybe… It's just… oh shut up…" He muttered softly, a pout forming on his face. Alice let out a small squeal.

"AWWW! That's so cute! I knew it!" She threw her arms around him in a loose hug. "Artemis is going to be so happy! Her little adoptive son, marrying into her species!" Harry huffed and pulled from her hug, still pouting. Oh, fine. Be like that pouty pants, but it is true. You would make a cute couple." She said, sobering her mood a bit. Looking out at him again she saw him breaking away from shadow and heading to the small hut that housed Hagrid that also sat just by them. There was no one around, and as alone. Alice got an idea. "Harry… I dare you to go down there and talk to him…" She drawled out evilly, eyeing her raven-haired friend. Harry's eyes shot up in surprise.

"What? No! Our guardians get pissed just form us being here! What makes you think they'll be even slightly ok with me having a chat with a human?" He looked down at the man he had a crush on, the man who now stood close enough for Harry to see that he indeed had gold eyes. Gorgeous gold eyes, that sparkled with intellect and mischief. He swallowed the lump in his throat and lowered his voice to the tiniest of whispers, so only Alice could hear. "And besides… What on Earth would I say to him?" Alice smiled and was about to respond when Loup looked up suddenly. Both occupants of the tree froze and held their breath; they looked down at Loup with shock and suspense. Loup tilted his head like a curious animal and narrowed those gorgeous eyes in suspicion, looking every part of the hunter that a werewolf was supposed to be. He raised his face into the air a bit and sniffed softly, tilting his head again to listen intently. Suddenly his eyes darted to the tree Harry and Alice stood in, he stared at his for what seemed like an eternity when he took a few steps forward. Feeling like his heart was going to leap into his throat Harry tensed as his crush moved closer and closer like a prowling predator. Then the door to the hut swung open and Hagrid stood in the frame, Loup spun around and looked at the half-giant in surprise.

"Professor! How can I help you?" Hagrid boomed, smiling broadly. Loup returned the smile, though more reserved, and nodded his head.

"Hello Hagrid, I was wondering if we could have a chat? I need to ask you some things about the next Hogsmade weekend. We're both supposed to chaperone and I decided to talk to you about where to meet and when, etc." Loup said in a soft voice that sent shivers up Harry's spine. Hagrid nodded and let Loup in with a smile; the werewolf cast one last suspicious glance at the tree and disappeared into the hut. Harry let out the breath he was holding and heard Alice do the same next to him.

"Whoa… That was extremely close. We've got to be more careful… Then again, if he caught us then you would have no excuse not to talk to him and you'd live happily ever after!" Alice said with a grin, Harry glared at her.

"Somehow I think you're going to tease me about this all day…" He responded with masked embarrassment as he jumped to some of the other trees silently, moving to a more secluded part of the lake. Alice followed him and giggled gleefully.

"What? No! I won't bug you all day! I mean why stop there? I plan on bugging you the rest of your life!" Harry glared good-naturedly at her. "Well, I got to go; promised mom I would help with the younger kids lessons. You staying here for a bit?" Harry nodded.

"Yeah, I'll meet you later." Alice waved bye and hopped off into the forest, Harry looked back to the grounds. In this specific spot only two people were there. One was a girl around Harry's age with curly brown hair and brown eyes. With her was another girl who looked about a year younger with long, bright red hair and green eyes. They were both talking when the redhead looked at a strap of leather on her wrist and stood up. She quickly said something and ran off to the castle. The brown haired girl grabbed one of the bags and ran after her. Harry saw a chance. They took one bag but the other one was still there, it was lying on the grass with dozens of books in it. Harry bit his lip in thought, he and Alice were always so curious as to what was written in those books. They had human books in the Elvin grove but they were all mostly muggle fiction, and ages old at that. Finally deciding Harry cautiously dropped from the tree and walked over to the bag with silence in his wake. The area was completely deserted and blocked from sight by a huge boulder, the girls were nowhere to be seen, and Harry felt adventurous. He pulled out a book about magical creatures and flipped through it. He snorted and raised eyebrows at some of the "facts" about elves the book listed, and scoffed at the description of the "dangerous werewolf". Artemis was harmless, a bit bitchy at times, but harmless. Not to mention that what he saw of Lupe he was an utter gentleman. Putting that book aside Harry grabbed a History of magic book. He flipped through this one as well and stopped at the "Great Defeats of Dark Wizards" section on the page that had a picture of Bumblebee on it. He read.

_Albus Dumbledore defeated the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945. He received the Order of Merlin, first class and is the current headmaster of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. The battle of 1945 took place in a-_

Harry Stopped, he didn't feel much like reading about an epic battle right now, there wasn't much time. He was impressed though.

"Go Bumblebee…" He murmured to himself as he flipped the page. He froze at the name on the top. "Harry Potter" was written in thick bold type at the top, the words "And the defeat of the dark lord Voldemort" Written under it. Harry was obviously intrigued. He read on, his eyes widening as he went further and further on the page.

&HP&

Hermionie Granger was sitting been sitting by the great lake with her best friend Ginny Weasley. Hermionie and Ginny had been friends since Hermionie's second year when Ginny came to school. The year before Hermionie admits that she was a bit of a loner. Second year they met and became fast friends, she was also pretty good friends with another 6th year from Ravenclaw named Luna Lovegood, Luna was a bit dotty but still very nice. Hermionie became friends with Ginny at first to possibly get closer to a boy in her year named Ron whom she had a crush on. Ron always looked at her with indifference and happened to be Ginny's older brother. Hermionie soon learned that it was a good idea to be friend with Ginny, her and Ron were somewhat closer (though not exactly friends) and Ginny turned out to be really cool. Back to reality Hermionie realized that Ginny had stood up.

"Oh darn! I'm supposed to meet Luna at Hogsmade for a project in five minutes! See ya around Hermionie!" She said quickly, running towards the castle in frenzy, Hermionie laughed. Suddenly she realized that Ginny left her bag, she grabbed it and ran after her friend to give it to her. After she caught Ginny and gave her bag to her she headed back to the lake to finish the homework she was working on. Then she saw him. Crouching by her bag with his back mostly to her was the most gorgeous boy she had ever seen. He had long hair of the purest black and red, absolutely amazing eyes, and flawless pristine skin. She didn't exactly feel a physical or romantic attraction to him, simply and attraction. She wanted to know his name, where he came from, and what on Earth he was. She didn't want to date him or kiss him, just… Know him. He was flipping through her history of magic textbook. Stopping on a certain page he read for a bit before mumbling something that sounded like "Go Bumblebee" and turned the page. Then he looked genuinely shocked at whatever it said, he read and seemed to get even more shocked if possible. Then without warning he froze, a split second later she was faced with the tip of an arrow on a tightly drawn bow.

&HP&

Harry was shocked, the things they wrote about him. Like he was God on Earth when he was one-bloody-year-old! It was ridiculous! Then the end… That's what really got him. They thought he was dead! He knew that he was famous; he knew that he had been… Well seldom seen to say the least, but dead? He felt a tiny pang of regret, did anyone miss him? Did anyone cry when they heard that he "died"? The thought was brushed away immediately, who would miss him? He lived in a bloody orphanage, the only people who could possibly ever miss him knew very well that he was alive and kicking. Those few people were his family back in the grove. Then, as he began to put the book back he realized he wasn't alone. He took a moment to berate himself, he was so engrossed in the almost laughable description on his life he didn't notice the other presence. He stood and drew and arrow in one swift movement. He had his bow taught and ready to fire in seconds, and he found himself face-to-face with a very surprised girl. Time froze for a moment, the air seemed to still. Neither the boy nor the girl made a single move, both was too shocked. Harry was far to wrapped up in his mind about how his family would react to this.

'Shit!' He cursed mentally. 'Aeson is going to kill me! Then find a way to resurrect me so Clara can kill me! Then SHE'LL resurrect me so Artemis can kill me! Then I'll be brought back for Krishna and then again for Ares and it will go on and on until I'm nothing!' Hermionie on the other hand was simply shocked. Begging a smart witch it didn't take her long to figure out what this boy was. The beauty, the clothing, the overall alluring aura. This boy was an elf; Hermionie just couldn't believe it though. It was well known that elves liked to keep to themselves, and were very good at doing just that. Barley anyone had seen an elf since the Renaissance, now Hermionie was face-to-face with one. Moving back to Harry he had long since forgotten his almost humorous self-pity rant and was confused rather than shocked. Why was that girl staring at him like that? He soon surmised that it must be that fact that he had her in a threatening situation. Slightly embarrassed, Harry lowered his bow, still keeping the arrow in its place just in case. She still stared with her mouth open and her eyes wide in awe. Harry cocked his head to the side like a curious puppy and raised an elegant eyebrow.

"What?" He finally said, she snapped out of her trance and shook her head slowly and blinked a few times.

"You… You're an elf!" She finally said in a frantic whisper, pointing her finger in an almost accusing manner. Harry blinked owlishly.

"Well… Yeah… actually no… I'm… It's complicated… What made you think I was an elf?" Hermionie lowered her finger.

"Well, your clothes for one, and your hair. It's so long. Then theirs the bow and arrow thing, then…" She trailed off with a blush. "Elves are known for their beauty… And you are kind of gorgeous." She finished with a mutter. A charming blush graced his cheeks, his gaze faltered.

"Eh, ok… Thanks, I guess." He murmured shyly to her, Hermionie smiled slightly. It was adorable; she took a hesitant step forward.

"Heh… What do you mean, "Complicated"? Are you an elf or not?" She asked, Harry looked at her cautiously before speaking.

"I'm not. I'm a human, wizard. My parents died when I was young and some elves took me in. I've lived with them since I was three, so genetically I'm human. In my heart and mannerisms I'm an elf. Complicated." It was odd, Harry felt safe around this girl, like he could trust her. He still kept his hands on the bow he held though.

"What's your name?" Harry blinked again at this question. Should he give her his real name? What if she figures out who he is? He may be a bit upset that people think he's dead but he didn't know what would happen if they knew. Would they take him from his home? He didn't want that. Before he could dwell on it he found himself responding.

"Harry." He said softly. "What's yours?" He asked, looking at her face. He was trying to read if she knew who he really was. Luckily she didn't wear the face that suggested that she had just heard: "oh, I'm Harry Potter, the hero, the God-like baby in your text books. You know, the dead one? Yeah, I'm alive! In face I've been living under you're noses for years. Irony's a bitch ain't it?" She simply looked interested.

"My name is Hermionie Granger. What were you reading?" This question was terribly unexpected.

"Uh, well. I was curious, back home we don't have books like these. We do have some human books, but they're mostly by humans. Mostly fictional stuff, interesting but not true, I was always curious as to what you read." Hermionie smiled again and sat by her bag, looking at the books Harry was reading.

"Really? I thought elves used magic like wizards and witches." Harry nodded, beginning to feel more relaxed in this Hermionie's presence he leaned against the bolder behind him and loosened the grip on his bow.

"It's true, we use magic, but not like you. You see, humans are far too logical. They feel that they need names and spells for everything. Elves are more into the heart of magic rather than the logic of it all. Logic holds to many restrictions, to many rules. When you do magic with your heart you're freer, you don't need a wand, you don't need to remember all those silly spells, and you just feel. We do have spells for very complicated rituals but that's mainly it. Elves hate restriction; the evidence lies in our homes. When you live in the forest, if you respect the forest, if you respect the other occupants of the forest it is all home. You can wander through a forest that could go on for acres and still never leave your front yard. So we apply this to magic. If you respect magic, and others using it then it is easier to control. You can do thousands of enchantments and still not breech the limits of your power." By the end of his speech Hermionie was staring at him in wonder.

"It's genius, I never thought of it like that. By the way, you say that you wonder about our books. Does this mean you watch us often?" Harry smirked and nodded. Then he proceeded to tell us about him and his friend going "human watching". He told her about the things they like watching the most and of the names they had for each teacher. She had a great laugh at that, especially the name for a man apparently named Snape. It seems that their name for him, "Bat", was a big coincidence considering that most of the students liked to call him "a great irritating bat". He also learned the names of the others too. Like Shadow being named Sirius Black, the name rang even more bells for Harry. He smiled when he learned that Lupe's name was in fact Remus Lupin, he found it odd how close he and Alice were on many of them. For a while they both talked and swapped questions and answers. It appeared that Hermionie found Harry to be as fascinating as Harry found her, he had no idea why. Soon though she had to leave for lunch, they said goodbye and hesiantly agreed to meet next weekend in another even more secluded spot by the lake. Harry now walked through the forest back to the grove, his head buzzing with newly found knowledge. Humans were so odd.

&HP&

Oh wow. That was such a long chapter. You better like it, it took forever to write. Love ya! Peace out!


	5. The Second Meeting

I feel loved. I am oh so happy. Not much to say but here are some replies to reviews. Oh! And I still need BETA! I know you must all be getting tired of reading through my poor attempt of grammar. So PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! TELL ME! I NEEED HELP! Ehem. Sorry about that.

Zyloch: Aw, I'm sorry honey. I feel a bit bad, especially after you were so polite! I know that you mean about it being odd for a guy to picture two guys together. I never really think about it being that I myself are a girl and happen to think two goys together is adorable. I do hope you can still enjoy the story!

SlythsRule: Actually that's true, it is odd for Harry to be with someone 20 years his senior. But do not fret my dear! For I have a plan (be afraid.) to fix that all up! I just hope it's convincing enough, and that it's taken well

SailorBaby16: My, my, my! You are a curious one aren't you? Heh I'll try to answer your questions. Firstly, wait what? Did I give you the idea Dumbledore isn't human? Because he is… oh, I've got to change whatever made you think that… To the second question, in due time my dear, due time. And lastly I have to tell you… I giggled when you said my story was cute. Does that make me a dork?

FairyQuilan: He is just a little babe isn't he? Eh, sorry, moving on… No, I always liked Hermionie so she's not going to tell, but people are going to find out about Harry another way. **Evil smirk **you'll just have to wait for that… Also, she doesn't actually know who he is, she'll probably figure it out eventually though, and she is like… A genius…

Wow! All done! The disclaimer reads: I'M A BROKE 9TH GRADER FROM CALI! I AM NOT JK ROWLING! Therefore am just stealing little bits of her imagination. So on with the story! Oh and btw. BETA! I NEED IT DAMNIT!

&HP&

Harry sat on the windowsill of his room; his room was the highest room in the elaborate tree house owned by Aeson and Clara. Harry always liked heights; even back when he was in the orphanage he felt safe high up. He was currently sitting with one leg bent up to his chest and the other dangling outside the window; he sat with the lush forest framing him elegantly if anyone was to look at him from inside. He was smiling softly as he read one of the large muggle books in their library. It was by the same man who wrote the Cesar book, William Shakespeare. It was called A Winter's Tale; Harry smiled wider as he read one of the character's names. Hermionie; It was an odd coincidence. The wind blew through his hair and he thought about the witch. Hermionie was very nice, and very intelligent; Harry already liked her.

Nervous worries knotted in his stomach suddenly. Did she tell? Did she run back to her dormitories as soon as he left and tell all her friends about the elf-raised boy who lived in the supposed evil forest she met that afternoon? Did she lie? Did she know who he was? The god-like baby who could kill dark lords, do back flips and walk on water before he could talk. Were there people out there now? Teachers and students alike, wandering the edges of the forest waiting for him, waiting to find him. Only to trap him and take him from his home, lock him in a room with no trees or animals, no natural light, and no fresh air. To put bars on his doors and hang colorful wooden signs above his doors proclaiming his "greatness", charge admission for people to come see the recently resurrected hero, gods gift to dictator killing babies everywhere.

Harry shook his head with a frown. Now he was just getting ridiculous. Hermionie didn't seem to be the type to do that. She showed no sign of recodizing his identity. Besides, he wasn't so important and special to them that they'd lock him in a windowless cell and show him off like a trophy. Or would they? Brows knitted in thought Harry stared at the blank windowsill in front of him. Finally he let out a snort and shook his head.

"Don't be daft boy… You're going to drive yourself insane one of these days." He muttered to his self-conscious. Suddenly he heard a laugh from the door.

"Drive yourself crazy? Too late." Harry looked up with mock irritation at Alice who stood in the doorframe to his room.

"How long have you been there?" Alice smirked and walked in; she plopped down onto his bed and began fiddling with something on his bedside table.

"Long enough to know you apparently have deep conversations with yourself when you're alone." Harry groaned in annoyance. "So what's up loser?" Harry couldn't help but smirk at the "loser" comment. That's what he loved about his relationship with Alice; they could bug and insult each other yet the other always knows they're just kidding around, so no one gets hurt.

"What do you mean?" Alice rolled her eyes and looked at Harry with an annoyingly amused look.

"Don't 'what' me mister. I'm an empath remember? Not to mention I know you well enough to read you like a book without my powers. Every since last week when you came back from being at the forest edge alone you've been… Odd" Harry raised an eyebrow. "Well. You'll be excited one second then nervous the next, and it's been getting worse! Something happened while you were alone there, something important and you're going to tell me!" Harry sighed in defeat; he had known Alice since he was three and he learned the hard was there was no arguing with her. He set his book down on his desk and moved from the windowsill to sit next to her on the bed.

"Alright, I'll tell you, but you HAVE to promise not to freak out! Or tell anyone! And I mean ANYONE!" Alice squealed and nodded enthusiastically, she spun so she was facing him with he knees tucked under her and her face split in a huge grin. "Ok, after you left those two girls we just came upon were, I don't know, late or something. They both ran off, and they left one of their bags with their books in it. They didn't look like they were coming back. And as you know, curiosity killed the cat. I snuck over there and was reading through the books. I—"

"Ah! You did? Oh my God! You bad, bad boy!" She squeaked giddily and started bouncing a bit. "What was in them? Did you steal one?"

"Ahk… No Ally I didn't steal one. And they were about—Will you cut out that bouncing? —Right, so one of them talked about magic creatures. You should hear what they say about elves and werewolves! It was ridiculous! And then there was one about magical history. There was a page or two about Bumblebee, his real name is Albus Dumbledore; he defeated this wizard guy named uh… Gridnwell… Something. I forget. Then they had a page about ME! Me Ally! Isn't that the oddest thing? And what they said about me! Gosh! It was foolish! And they think I'm dead Ally! They think I died that night at the orphanage! They had a memorial and everything!" Harry stopped to take a breath; he had to admit it felt good to tell someone this. "Then IT happened. One of the girls came back." He paused momentarily win Alice let out a very loud gasp and stopped bouncing. "Her name was Hermionie, she's 17. We… Well we talked, I told her about how I was taken in by all of you. I don't think she knew about the "boy-who-lived" stuff though. She told me about everything Ally!

"I learned everything! I learned every ones names! And the screaming thing? It's a game! What they do is try to get the red ball in the other teams hoops for points, the hit those black balls to distract and hit the other team. And the game ends when they catch this tiny gold ball that's real fast called a "snitch". The game ends when they catch it and the person who caught it gets a whole mess of points for their team. The screaming is just people cheering for their teams!" Finally he finished. Alice was still and had a slack-jawed look on her face. Harry almost laughed but thought better of it. "I'm supposed to meet her again this afternoon…" He added, keeping a weary eye on Alice as she sat in an unusually quiet way.

"OH MY GOD! NO WAY! OH! TELL ME EVERYTHING! AND YOU ARE SO TAKING ME WITH YOU!" Once again Alice began to bounce franticly, she grabbed Harry's biceps in a death grip and brought her face inches from hers as she shrieked these words. Harry yelped and leaned back.

"AHK! Alice! Remember what you promised before I started? This counts as freaking out!" Alice rolled her easy and calmed down a bit, though she was still rocking back and forth with an almost perverse glee in her eyes. "Alright. Well let's start with names. As I said Bumblebee is Dumbledore, he's the headmaster. Tabby is McGonagall, the transfiguration professor. Bat is the potions master named Snape. Wood Sprite is Professor Sprout, herboligy. Pan is named Hooch and she teaches flying and referees the screaming game things." Before he could continue Alice interrupted.

"And what about Shadow? And Loup?" She wiggled her eyebrows while she was finishing her question, Harry blushed and responded.

"Shadow is named Professor Black, Loup is… Well we were actually pretty close, his name is Professor Lupin, him and Black co-teach Defense against the dark arts."

"Well, did you ask this girl about the… eh weird age thing that happened?"

"Her name is Hermionie. And no, I didn't get a chance. I wanted to ask today." Harry replied with a frown. Back when Harry was thirteen he did indeed get a crush on Lupe. That was kind of odd because they weren't to practiced in "human watching" stealth then so they never got close enough to get a real good look at him. But when they saw him around the middle of that summer they got closer and he seemed a lot younger for some reason. Harry looked out the window at the sun through the thick foliage of the forest canopy. "It's about noon, we should go." Harry stood up, grabbed his bow and arrow and headed out the door, Alice followed and he spun to face her. "Alice, be nice. And try not to scare the poor girl, alright?" Alice giggled.

"I'm always nice! And when am I ever scary?" Harry rolled his eyes and headed out the door.

"When are you NOT scary?" He murmured over his shoulder at her. She laughed and ran after him to swat him playfully on the head.

&HP&

They had just reached the spot out behind the castle in some old ruins, the ivy-covered courtyard was completely abandoned and the statues decorating it were crumbling to non-existence. The vines around the courtyard hung all around and hid it perfectly from view; they were supposed to meet Hermionie here. Just on cue the vines were pushed apart and Hermionie walked in looking around, she spotted Harry and smiled. Her smile faded in confusion when she saw Alice next to him.

"Hello Hermionie. This is Alice, she found out about this and wanted to come; she's the one who goes "human watching" with me." Harry said as he walked up to the witch with a kind smile. Hermionie smiled at him and looked still smiling at Alice.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you. I take it you're a REAL elf?" She asked as she shook Alice's hand.

"Yup, and Harry isn't a fake elf. He's more like a… Honorary elf." Hermionie laughed.

"I see, so. Are you his girlfriend?" At these words both other occupants of the courtyard inhaled sharply and looked at one another.

"Ew!" Harry said with a look of terror on his pale face.

"Yeah ok gross!" Alice said with a grimace, Hermionie laughed even harder.

"I'll take that as a no." Alice and Harry both laughed it off, and then Harry asked the question he was worrying over all week.

"Hermionie… You didn't tell anyone about me did you?" Hermionie looked at him with a small smile.

"Nope." She shook her head. "I was dying to though, but I remembered about how elves like their privacy so I didn't." Harry let out a breath and smiled gratefully, thanking her kindly.

"So they do have some facts about us in those books do they? Say, mind if I see that? I'm interested." Hermionie chucked and nodded, she got a thick blue book from the bag on her shoulder.

"Sure, here you go." Alice thanked her and took the book she immediately began to read. Hermionie turned back to Harry. "So, what questions you got for me today? I know I have quite a few." Harry smiled and sat skillfully on the edge of the crumbling statue of an old wizard with a cane, Hermionie sat on the moss covered bench nest to it.

"Well. Actually this one is about Loup—I mean Lupin." Hermionie nodded in encouragement. "In your third year when he first started teaching we didn't get much of a look at him. But when we got to look at him more closely during the summer he seemed…. Well… Younger… I don't know if we were mistaken during the school year but…" Hermionie nodded in understanding.

"Right, I know what you mean. And he did get younger during the summer holiday after third year." Harry raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I know. It sounds crazy but it actually makes sense. I think it was a potions accident…" She began to tell the story. Alice apparently had found the section on elves and their story was interrupted by her occasional bursts of laugher.

_4 years ago during the summer of 1993…_

_Remus Lupin sat in his office talking with his best friend Sirius Black when the door opened. Severus Snape walked in with a steaming goblet at hand, he set it on the desk._

"_Now Lupin I want you to tell me anything odd that happens during this months transformation. I'm experimenting with the wolfsbane, to make the transformation less painful. Report to me when you recover." And with that he stalked from the room in all his diabolical British-ness. Remus and Sirius share a look, Remus picks up the goblet and sniffs it, and he recoils and pulls a face._

"_Ugh… Well here goes nothing." He takes a sip, pauses, and begins to cough violently. Sirius sits up alarmed and pound on his friends back._

"_That bloody bastard poisoned you! HE POISENDED YOU!" Sirius was shouting franticly, Remus stopped coughing a bit and shakes his head._

"_No…" He choked out. "It's not poison. It just tastes horrid! Worse than before! And trust me, that's saying something!" Sirius rolled his bright blue eyes._

"_Oh poo, you baby! It can't be _that_ bad!" Remus scowled pouting._

"_Well since your human…mostly… It won't affect you in any way. So go ahead! You taste it you prat!" Sirius scoffed and snatched the goblet from Remus' hands. He tilts his head back and takes a big sip. Immediately he begins to have a coughing fit. Remus snickers and pats his back._

"_Oh lord! That's disgusting!" He muttered in a distraught voice eyeing the goblet tiredly. Remus laughed outright and took the goblet back._

"_Damn right it is. Bastard. I told you. And I have to finish it too." He stared at the goblet in his hands with firm determination. He let out a breath and downed the whole thing, coughing violently. Sirius patted his back and looked at his friend with awe._

"_Shite Mooney… You're hardcore." Remus stood shakily and nodded his head._

"_Fuck yeah I am. Now help me to the shack alright?" Sirius nodded and they set of to the shrieking shack._

_&HP&_

_The next morning Remus woke on the floor of the shrieking shack with a sore body, the transformation did hurt a little bit less but not by much. He stretched and looked around for Sirius, he found him. He was shocked to say the least. That person asleep in the old ripped up armchair was definitely his friend. He recodised that face, he knew that scent. But there was one problem. He only looked to be around 21, Sirius, like Remus, was 37. He stood quickly ignoring the protest of his weary body and shook his friend awake._

"_Sirius! Wake up damnit! What happened? Look at yourself!" Sirius snorted in protest and refused to wake. After a bit he gave up though, he grumbled and opened his eyes to glare at Remus. They didn't glare though; they stared in shock._

"_HOLY SHIT!" Sirius shrieked as he bolted up. "Look at you Mooney! What the hell happened? You look so young! Am I drunk? Or… Stoned? DREAMING?" Remus shook his head._

"_No, you're very much awake! And look in the mirror wont you! I'm not the young one! You only look 21!" Sirius stuttered and looked in the rusting mirror in the corner._

"_Oh my God! I do! And so do you!" He grabbed Remus' shoulders and spun him to face the mirror as well, Remus' jaw dropped as he saw a 21-year-old version of himself staring back. "Do you think it was the potion?" Before Remus could answer the trap door opened and Snape climbed up._

"_Good morning Lupin. How did it go? Any side effects?"_

"_Hell yes there was side effects!" Remus screamed in a frantic voice, causing Snape to look at him for the first time. His jaw dropped._

"_I… Oh my God… What… Where did I go wrong?" He stuttered in shock. Sirius raised an eyebrow._

"_I'm guessing you inadvertently created a de-aging potion?" He asked, Snape slowly nodded while he continued to gape. There was a silence in the room before Sirius broke it. "YES!" He screamed, pumping his fist in the air he began to jump and dance around while singing in a cheerful voice. "I'm only 21! I'm not an old cook anymore! Oh yeah I'm only 21! I'm not a geezer like Snape anymore!" Remus burst out laughing while Snape sneered and went back down the trapdoor angrily…_

_Back to Present…_

Harry was staring at Hermione once she finished telling the story, Alice had finished reading and was also listening with attentive ears.

"So… Lupe is now 24-years-old due to some freak potions mix up?" She asked oddly, Hermione gave a half smile and shrugged.

"That's right. It's odd I know. And what are the chances? But the proof is in their ages." Alice grinned; she turned and looked at Harry evilly.

"Wow. What are the chances indeed? He's only 7years older than us now… You know what that means Harry? It's a sign. It's meant to be!" She finished dramatically by throwing her hands in the air and looking wistfully at the sky, Hermione giggled at her antics while Harry merely blushed and scowled at her.

"Uh… What's meant to be? What did I miss?" Alice laughed and wiggled her eyebrows at Hermionie. She nodded silently to Harry and gave a silent mock swoon. Harry blushed and punched her arm. "OW! Hey! Chill, all right? I didn't say anything!" Harry stuck his tongue at her and pouted. Hermionie on the other hand seemed to be putting the pieces together; she suddenly blinked and began giggling.

"Awwww!" She cooed. "You have a crush on professor Lupin? That is so cute! You two would be so good together!" Harry blushed more and buried his face in his hands. Alice giggled and sat next to Hermionie on the bench.

"Aren't they? I've tried and tried to get Harry to talk to him. But he never does! He's way too shy." Harry groaned and glared at the two girls in front of him.

"You are both from hell… The fiery depths of hell, I'm sure of it. Now did you have any questions Hermionie?" Hermionie gradually stopped giggling and dragged herself from girl land. She nodded and began asking thousands of questions, Harry smiled, glad to have the old curious Hermionie back rather than this giggly girly Hermionie. The rest of the afternoon was just more question and answer, with a bit of "Harry teasing" mixed in. They all agreed to meet again in the same spot next week and headed to their separate homes. Hermionie Headed back to the castle while Alice and Harry hopped away into the forest, eager till next week.

&HP&

There, I hope the age-potion thing wasn't too cheesy. I had to think of some way to make him younger. And now I'm going to explain where Alice and Harry got the other names for teachers.

McGonagal: Named "Tabby" because they sneak around a lot and have seen her change into a tabby cat on many occasions.

Sprout: Named "Forest Sprite" because forest sprites are the spirits and fairies that tend to magical forests, and they (Alice and Harry) see her gardening all the time. (Herboligy Professor, duh.)

Hooch: Named "Pan" because I did say that Alice and Harry had muggle books, I thought one could be "Peter Pan". And in the movies I always thought that Hooch reminded me of Peter Pan. With her short wild hair and love of flying… It seemed to fit.


	6. The Plot Thickens! Bum Bum Bum!

Wahaha! Another chapter up! I do hope you like it! Now responses to comments!

FairyQuilan: Ahaha! Wow, that one line… "Then they can kiss and do… other things…" That was so much like something my best friend would say it was scary! And btw, that is exactly what I was planning! Well almost… It won't be Remus. ;) You'll see in this chapter.

Meehanium: Aw damn. I feel retarded now. I will go sit in my corner of shame, (I'm not making fun of you, I'm just a loser.) And give myself a slap on the wrist! And when I'm done with that I'm going back and changing all the "Lupe's" to "Loup's". Thank you so much for your correction!

Aine Rowan: I. **LOVE.** You! And thank you so much! You say that you can't write but know grammar and spelling… Well I can write (I'm so modest aren't I?) And I can't do grammar or spelling for shit. Not that I would anyhow, after all, what would I do with shit? Never got that expression… One problem though, all I got in your review was AineRowan at what? I need the full address.

Shinigami: Ehehe… Actually, I just hear him be called a "great big bat" in most fanfics, and I'm sure it's in the books somewhere. He is just so bat-ish with his flowy, black, wing like cloak, and evil black eyes. **Snape fan girls faint… I roll my eyes at them.**

Hey… What's that in the sky? It's a bird! It's a plane! It's—oh no wait… It was just a bird… But what's that? It's… DISCLAIMERS: I don't own anything, so get over it… I have for the most part.

&HP&

Harry and Alice were racing each other through the forest to get to the courtyard where they met Hermionie every Sunday. It was that time of the week again and they had been having their little visits for three weeks now. They were learning so much! They never wore Hermionie out with their questions either; whenever they gave her two questions she responded with an informative answer and four questions right back. It didn't take long for them to find out that Hermionie was a very curious and knowledgeable girl. Harry and Alice were quickly growing to love her, she was becoming a great friend, it seemed that Hermionie liked them just as much as well. This was the reason that Harry had decided to tell her who he was as soon as they got there. He trusted her not to tell if he begged her not to and he always felt a bit guilty about lying to her. Well, not really lying, he never said he wasn't the boy-who-lived; he was just not being totally honest with her. Due to how smart she was he and Alice were surprised she didn't get it sooner, but it was evident that she never caught on due to the sole fact that Harry Potter was good and dead as far as she knew. Harry was always racked with guilt when she would mention the poor lost soul she knew as Harry Potter, he was shocked at how she reacted to talking about him. She would get a sad look and sometimes even get a bit teary eyed. She didn't even know him! Or rather she thought she didn't.

Her reaction was starting to make Harry think that he was missed in the wizarding world, if a girl who hadn't heard of him until she was 11 was effected so badly how did people who knew about him since that faithful night at Godric's hollow react? All Harry knew was that he trusted Hermionie and wanted her to know, he was learning about the world he was always fascinated by and he was making a great friend. Things were going good.

&HP&

_Two days ago…_

Ginny weasley sat in the library with her older brother Ron doing charms homework. Or rather she was trying; her mind kept wandering to her good friend Hermionie. She was worried about her; Ron seemed to sense something was wrong.

"Gin? What's up?" He asked, putting his quill down and starring at his baby sister worriedly. Ginny looked up and sighed heavily.

"It's nothing Ron… I'm just a bit worried about Hermionie…" Ron raised an eyebrow and leaned in, listening intently. Secretly, he had had a crush on Hermionie ever since third year. "Ever since a few weeks ago she's been disappearing at the same time Sunday afternoon. Then she comes back a few hours later, just in time for lunch, and looks a lot brighter. Normally that wouldn't bother me, I mean… She is coming back happy, but still. She tells me everything Ron… She hasn't said a word! Even when Luna or I ask! She just brushes it off!" Ron frowned and leaned back into his chair.

"I eh… You don't think she's meeting up to snog with some one do you?" He asked, trying to sound calm but failing. Ginny luckily didn't notice.

"Nope… That's not like Hermionie." 'Not to mention that every one knows she's bloody in love with you.' She added mentally. Ron sighed in relieve and smiled at his sister.

"Don't worry about it Gin. Hermionie's a smart girl; she wouldn't do anything dangerous." Ginny bit her lip but after a moment nodded with a smile.

"You're right Ron. She wouldn't do anything stupid. She'll tell me when she's ready." Ginny and Ron turned back to their homework, both completely oblivious to the figure hiding in the shadows who had listened to everything they had said with interest.

&HP&

_Back to present…_

Harry and Alice neared the courtyard with smiles, their smiles grew as they saw Hermionie sitting on the stone bench reading a book and waiting.

"Boogie!" Alice screamed as she leaped out of the bushes behind the calm girl. Said calm girl screamed loudly and fell off the bench. She glared up at Alice who stood on the bench looking down at her laughing like a maniac. Harry walked out of the bushes a bit after, holing his sides as he laughed hysterically.

"No fair using Elvin stealth to sneak up on a girl!" Hermionie said angrily, tossing her book and smiling in triumph as it hit Alice's head, effectively cutting off her laughter. Harry's laughter on the other hand grew tenfold as he watched his life long friend get caught completely off guard.

"Ow! Un-called for!" Alice growled loudly, rubbing the sore spot on her forehead. Hermionie crossed her arms and smirked haughtily, sticking out her tongue for added effect. Harry calmed his laughter and decided to get straight to the point. Still chuckling he walked forward towards Hermionie and helped her up.

"Nice one! But in all serious… I have something I've got to tell you… It's about my name—" Harry cut himself up and stiffened, behind him Alice did the same. Hermionie stared at them oddly and opened her mouth to talk. Before she could Harry had whipped out his bow and had it loaded, taught and aimed at an empty space near the statue to his left. She also noticed that Alice had drawn a long elegant sword and held it poised, starring at the same place Harry was aiming at. Hermionie blinked in surprise; she had never even seen Alice carry a sword! She wondered what other weapons both her friends had concealed on a daily basis. Before she could contemplate it Alice began walking slowly forward to the blank spot, sword still out and ready. When she stood a bit away she nervously flipped it around so the blunt end was pointing out. She nudged it at the air and her eyes grew. Stepping forward quickly she grabbed at the air and pulled. Hermionie gasped as Alice now held an invisibility cloak in her hand and was face-to-face with a very surprised and extremely dumfounded Sirius Black.

"Professor!" Hermionie said aghast, her eyes wide in shock at the sight of her professor sanding feet away from her new friends. Everyone was too shocked to move, everyone was too shocked to speak. They all just stood there for several moments until Sirius broke the trend. Slowly and with a shaking hand he reached into his robes, drawing out an old shabby piece of parchment. Wide, glassy, blue eyes were glued in a disbelieving fashion to Harry, who merely starred back. Sirius raised his wand and tapped the parchment with it, muttering words under his breath. Slowly he lowered his eyes to the parchment and fainted dead away.

&HP&

Sirius Black was always a curious person. Ever since he was little he loved to solve mysteries and couldn't turn down the offer of intrigue even if he wanted. So it was no wonder he was excited after hearing the two Weasley siblings talking in the library. He didn't want to eves drop, but when he heard that they were worried he had to listen! It was his civic duties as their teacher! He had to—Oh sod it, he DID want to eves drop. Sirius Black was a curious person. And Sirius Black was a damn nosey person as well. So that Sunday he grabbed his friend James' old invisibility cloak and follow his young student. He was practically dying to know that young Mrs. Granger was up to.

And hey, even if it did turn out to be something as stupid as sneaking off for a snog he could still interrupt and break it up, embarrassing them both. He didn't dislike Hermionie or anything; she was actually one of his favorite students but… well… Sirius Black was a curious person. He was a nosey person. And he was even a slightly sadistic person. He always found it hilarious how they would blush and stutter when he caught them, and then refuse to make eye contact days after. Sirius was well aware that he was nosey, curious, and sadistic. This didn't really bother him, because he would just remind himself. 'Sirius Black… You are a curious, nosey, sadistic bastard. But you're a damn good looking one so no harm, no fowl… oh. And your modesty could use some work….' Sirius shook his head to clear it as he followed his 7th year student through the back corridors of Hogwarts. Soon he found himself in an old crumbling courtyard with vines, moss, and ancient statues. Hermionie walked over and sat on a bench, she took out a book and began to read. Sirius pouted and walked silently up next to her. Was this it? Was this girl sneaking out every week to come to some mold-covered courtyard and read?

'Oh Hermionie… You animal you…' He thought to himself with a mental huff. He was about to turn and leave when something jumped out of the bushes behind Hermionie crying out loudly as it did so. Hermionie screamed and fell off the bench, Sirius himself almost screamed bloody murder but bit his tongue knowing he'd be caught. Once he had gained his wits he saw that the thing was a tall and very pretty blonde girl. No, not girl… She was an elf! Sirius crept closer to get a better look. He was startled when another figure emerged from the bush, laughing heartily. This one was a beautiful boy with red and black hair; he looked like an elf. When Sirius looked at his ears that were peeking out from his long shining hair he saw that he WASN'T an elf, but a human. Sirius felt a pang of recognizing this boy and felt a painful stab at his heart, though he didn't know why. Then the boy's eyes opened, and Sirius felt his blood run cold. Only two people ever had eyes that bright. Eyes so startlingly pure and intense, eyes so amazingly green. Those two people were Lily Potter and her son, Harry Potter. Still in awe he walked forward until he stood next to a statue near where the boy had walked. He felt his eyes begin to water and his grip on his wand tighten. Suddenly he was faced with the tip of an arrow and those intense green eyes. He vaguely registered the elf girl poking him and pulling his cloak off. 'No… It couldn't be… He's dead… He's dead… Impossible…' Despite what his mind was saying he reached in his cloak and took out the Marauder's Map. He tapped it and said the magic words; he willed his eyes away from the boy and looked down to the map. There were four dots where he was. One was himself, the other was Hermionie and the dot that sat where the Elf girl stood was labeled "Alice Mizu". His eyes bypassed all these and instead headed to the dot sitting where the boy stood. His heart quickened as he read the name floating in elegant black ink above the dot. "Harry Potter". Sirius blinked once and passed out.

&HP&

OMG! How many people hate me so much for leaving it here? Well don't worry; I plan on updating relatively quickly. So. REVIEW!


	7. The Emo Chapter

Oh Whee! Two minutes after I post I have 5 reviews! Each stating how evil/sadistic I am! Wow I'm proud of myself!  Ehem. Now, for the replies to the reviews!

FairyQuilan: Ehe, yes I do find you amusing. But don't worry, not in a like… "Dance you stupid clown! Entertain me slave girl!" more like in a "of shizit. This persons pretty awesome." So don't worry! I don't really like Ron either… And I'm not knocking the evilness, I quite agree with you. Snape kicks ass, but I just know a girl who is OBSESSED with him and she kind of turned me off to the whole "mad Snape fan girl" thing… But for you Snape fans I stumbled upon this (I didn't make it) and thought you might like it: http/members.lycos.nl/likwi/potion.htm

Bumblebuzz: There will be screaming… And crying… and maybe a little bit of cursing.

RAHHHH: Ehem. Let me get this right… NAH NER NAH NER NAHHHH NERRR! Ahaha! For those wondering, this is my best friend, she has right to say these things, she knows me… she isn't just insane… oh wait… well not totally insane…

Fanfictionfreak: I am a little bitch aren't I? Heh, well don't worry. Ginny and Ron will find shit out in due time my dear… due time.

Shinigami: Aha! This made me giggle. Tis true, When Sherlock Sirius is on the case nothing will go unnoticed! Elementary dear Lupin… Elementary…

The Real Jackie-O: Oh! A bastard! I'm flattered!

Jessdarkwater: Heh, yeah… Don't you love the little trail I set out? Moving along enjoying the scenery, then OMG PLOT TWIST IN THE TRAIL! YOUR CARRAIGE GOES OUT OF CONTROL! (I don't know why you have a carriage in the 20th century but hey.) NEXT THING YOU KNOW YOU'RE CAREANING OFF A CLIFF! Wahahaha!

Ok. I don't own anything get over it yada, yada, yada…

&HP&

Harry was freaked out. For a while everyone stood in silence, starring at the unconscious form of Hermionie's DADA professor. No one really knew what to say, but then Alice summed it all up perfectly. In one eloquent word she announced what all of their muddled and hazy minds was trying to tell them.

"Shit." Hermionie blinked at the words, she frowned and looked at them oddly.

"What the hell was that?" She shook her head. "Why did he faint?" She started looking swiftly between Alice, Harry, and Professor Black. "WHAT WAS HE LOOKING AT!" She started to hyperventilate. Alice strode up to her and slapped her hard across the face.

"Get a hold on yourself woman!" She snapped sternly, Hermionie starred at her in disbelieve and brought a surprised hand to her cheek. Alice started to giggle. "Sorry, I've always wanted to do that." Hermionie rolled her eyes, Harry ignored them both and crept forward to the dark haired man. He poked him gently with his bow, once satisfied with his lack of consciousness He knelt down and pried the shabby piece of paper from his hand. The two girls stopped bickering childishly and walked up behind him to look over his shoulder, they found themselves looking at a map. The map had little moving dots with names all over it; right where they were was four dots labeled with their own names. Harry wondered what this map had done to make Shadow faint like that, he was startled by a loud squeak from Hermionie as she staggered back. He spun around and looked at her curiously, she had her hands over her mouth and her eyes were wide as saucers as they starred at Him.

"You… You're HARRY POTTER!" She choked out, Harry stiffened. Ah yes, that might be the reason. Hermionie promptly fainted. Alice and Harry shared a look.

"Shit." Harry nodded in an agreement.

&HP&

Black. That wasn't just his last name. Black was currently all Sirius could see, the black faded away and he found himself laying on a hard stone ground, his head really hurt. He briefly wondered why the hell he was laying on the ground when a soft female voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Shit." The voice said, Sirius looked up and saw a pretty elf girl and an equally pretty human boy. Wait… Not just boy. That's why he was on the ground; he fainted. No, no wait… Passed out, fainted made him sound like a girl. He passed out because his supposed dead godson was standing right in front of him. Slowly and carefully Sirius stood up, keeping his teary eyes trained firmly on Harry. Him and the girl looked up at him and Sirius by some miracle found his tongue.

"H… Harry…" He stuttered out, Harry bit his lip and slowly nodded his head. Sirius felt his pulse quicken.

"Yes…" Sirius' breath hitched at hearing his Godson speak to him for the first time in16 years, and last time the "speaking" was his tiny voice stumbling over his name. He had gotten as close as "Pafoo" before he gave up. "I am Harry Potter…" Nervously he ran his hand through his long hair, pushing the bangs out of the way so his infamous lightning bolt scar was visible. The overall gesture caused Sirius to flash back to James. "But… Don't. Freak. Out." He said, worry and slight concern in those amazing green eyes. This particular gesture caused him to flash to Lily, and he lost it. Sirius dissolved into sobs and began laughing at the same time. He simply couldn't decide which one suited the occasion better; overall it was an odd sight to see. He vaguely heard the girl mutter something like: "Well so much for not freaking out." All he knew was Harry standing before him, very much alive. All he felt was the overwhelming mixture of joy, confusion, and utter disbelieve that bubbled frantically in his chest to an almost painful extent. The butterflies in his stomach seemed to have invited a herd of Hippogriffs over, and were starting a mosh-pit in his gut. With not a second thought he strode forward and wrapped his arms firmly around Harry and began sobbing into his neck, babbling an endless stream of emotion-ridden words.

&HP&

Harry didn't know what to do. Shadow was clinging to him for dear life, like he was going to vanish any minute. In the shock of it all Harry found himself wrapping his arms around the distraught man in return and struggling to support his weight, as Shadow's legs seemed to be giving out. Finally Harry couldn't take it and they now were both on the ground. Harry had his legs tucked under him and Sirius had his legs resting to his side as he continued to sob into his arms. Words were floating to Harry's ears, wet and smothered words coming from Sirius. Harry struggled to understand them.

"Oh god Harry. I can't believe it; I can't believe you're alive. I never wanted to believe it; I nearly died when I heard. I never got over it and I never could." Harry felt shocked at these words; people did miss him. A lot. Gently, Harry pried himself away from Sirius so he could look him in his bloodshot and tear soaked eyes. His face was flushed and his nose red, his eyes seemed so lost yet absolutely overjoyed and his lips were trembling. "I've taken so many years to try and tell myself that you were dead… But every time someone would knock on my door I would run to answer it… Somehow thinking it would be you… Every Christmas… Every birthday… I would somehow be convinced that you would come running into my room to wake me up at dawn by bouncing on my bed. Telling me to wake up and that you wanted your presents… Part of me had given up after so long… But now… you're here, you're alive… you're… you exist… And now… I find myself trying to convince myself that this isn't just a dream. That I won't wake up any second all alone and even more heart broken than before…" Sirius broke off into more distraught sobs. Harry found tears in his own eyes. He may not know him too much, but this man loved him. He didn't know how he could when he had never known him before, but it was evident. He loved him with all his heart. Harry let out a shaky breath and gave him a slightly watery smile.

"Don't worry Shadow… This isn't a dream. And I'm not going to disappear." Sirius let out a strangled noise at this and buried his face in Harry's neck. He took a deep breath and tried to memorize his scent, he tried to memorize the feel of his hair and how it felt with his arms around him. He took in the way his hands rubbed soothing circles on his back and the sound of his soft voice as he whispered reassuring words in his ear. Sirius took every possible thing into memory, just in case Harry was wrong, just in case this was indeed a dream.

After many emotional minutes Sirius had calmed down enough for Harry to talk to. He pulled back again to look at him and smiled a bit.

"I… I'm sorry, but why…" Harry didn't know what exactly to say, how exactly to put this. Sirius gave him a questioning look. "Why have you missed me so much? You don't even really know me do you?" Sirius gave a short sob and shook his head with a smile and a fresh batch of tears spilling from his eyes.

"Harry, you're wrong. I do know you…" It was Harry's turn to be confused. "I was your dad's best friend. I was his best man at his and your moms wedding. I do know you; I was there at the hospital when you were born. I was the guy who would sneak over to your house when you were one and steal you from your parents, sending them into a fit. I was the one who gave you that black stuffed dog for your birthday, you loved that thing…" Sirius laughed a bit at the memories and Harry was full on crying now, simply crying and listening in shock. He knew that dog Sirius was talking about; he had it with him in the orphanage. It was the only thing Harry had from his old life, he had begged Aeson to sneak back and get it… It was still sitting on his bed back in the grove. "I missed you so much pup. I… I'm your Godfather." At these words Harry himself felt like following the popular trend as of late by fainting dead away. He choked on his tears and blinked a few times.

"My… Godfather?" He whispered softly, Sirius smiled and nodded his head. His smile faded when Harry sent him a death glare. "Why did you leave me? Why did you leave me at the Dursley's? They hated me! Why did you let me rot at the orphanage? How could you miss me so fucking much if you didn't even want me!" He sobbed out, his voice practically yelling by the end. Sirius was shaking his head, rivers of tears streaming down his face.

"No! Pup! I did want you! I wanted you more than anything! They wouldn't let me have you!" He sighed and got a lost look on his handsome face. "I was framed for handing your parents over to Voldemort. They sent me to Azkaban prison without even a trial. I was proven innocent four years ago, the first thing I wanted to do was see you… But it was too late, I didn't even know until then. Remus told me you were dead and…" He trailed off again, pleading eyes burning into Harry's. Harry felt his breath return to normal, he wasn't unwanted. He was loved.

"Good then." He said with a grin as he collapsed into his godfather's arms, reveling in the feel of his strong arms hugging him tenderly back.

&HP&

Alice smiled; this was certainly a lot to take in. But it was all so fantastic; Harry had a godfather. They were so cute together like that, she felt herself loose control and she began to giggle, both men looked up. Harry smiled and pulled out of the hug, collecting himself.

"Sirius, this is my best mate: Alice." He said gesturing to Alice with a grin. Sirius grinned and shook the hand offered to him.

"Then it's definitely nice to meet you." He said causing Alice to chuckle.

"Like wise Shadow!" She replied jovially, Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Shadow? I heard you call me that too Harry. What's that about?" Harry laughed and explained their pass time of "human watching" and all their nicknames for people. Sirius was cracking up by the end. "Interesting. All this time we've been looking for you you've been watching us do it." Harry had the kindness to look sheepish. "So you named my animagus form 'Shadow'? Your dad, Remus and I named his Padfoot." He said with a small half smile. Alice noticed a look of shock on Harry's face, Sirius obviously saw it too because he asked him what was wrong. Harry blinked a few times and looked directly in Sirius' eyes, tears rolling down his cheek.

"I… I remember…" He gave out a short huff of laughter. "I remember!" Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Pafoo… You kidnapped me…" Alice was confused as hell but Harry's words seemed to strike something in Sirius because he was crying as well. Their moment was interrupted by a small moan behind them.

"My head…" Hermionie sat up and rubbed her head, grumbling about something. Suddenly she looked up and starred at Harry in shock. "You…"

"Yeah Herm…" Harry interjected. "I am… That's what I wanted to tell you before the whole thing with Sirius. But please, it's still just me. Could you still not tell anyone?" Hermionie gave a silent nod and Harry smiled at her.

"Wait! Not tell anyone? Aren't you coming back?" Sirius asked frantically, Harry spun around and looked at him.

"Sirius… I… I'm sorry… But I'm just not ready for…" He looked up at the castle. "That… I'm not leaving; I just have to go back to the grove for now… Please understand… I promise to still see you." Sirius let out a shaky breath and slowly needed.

"Ok fine. But I'm gonna hold you to that, I want to see you all the time alright?" Harry nodded eagerly at this and gave him a long hug. He smiled and stood up, as they pulled apart, helping Sirius up too. He gave Hermionie a hug and picked up his bow. Alice followed suit with a handshake with Sirius and Hug to Hermionie. Everyone said their good-byes and went their separate ways. Hermionie went to her common room to gather herself more and process everything, Alice and Harry walked back home to the grove in a comfortable silence. Sirius on the other hand was running, he couldn't contain all the energy he had, he didn't want to scare the students he passed. So he tried to hold in the loud slightly maniacal laughter bubbling in his throat so he ran by them all with a large insane grin on his face, scaring the hell out of all of them all the same.

&HP&

Remus Lupin picked up his cloak, readying to go to a late lunch when Sirius burst in. Sirius had one hand in a death grip on the doorframe, other hand hanging in a fist by his side. He was out of breath and his eyes were wide and starring at Remus gleefully, a homicidal grin splitting his slightly flushed face. Remus slowly set his cloak down and knitted his brows together. He was extremely disturbed. Remus shouted fearfully as Sirius dashed towards him as fast as lightning. He wrapped one arm tightly around Remus' waist and gripped his other hand, holding it out to their sides. He began humming and twirling him and the terrified werewolf around the room. He let go of his waist and spun him with the one hand, letting go so he stumbled and fell into the chair at his desk. He looked on in morbid fear as Sirius continued to hum and dance around the room. Suddenly he stopped dead, starring at nothing. Then he fell to his knees, head bowed. Little drops of water appeared on the stone floor under his face; he was crying.

"Sirius?" Remus whispered slowly, Sirius looked up at him. He had tears lining his face and a serene smile on his face. "You ok?" He turned his eyes to look out the window that showed a view of the grounds leading to the forbidden forest. His eyes lingered on the forest and his tears thickened. Slowly he looked back at his friend with a wider smile.

"Yeah Moony… I'm fine… Everything is fine… Everything is going to be ok…" He began to chuckle, it grew into full-blown laughter. Remus raised an eyebrow and picked up his cloak.

"Euh… Nice to know…" He slowly inched out the door and into the corridor, walking quickly and fearfully to the great hall. Leaving a laughing and crying Sirius in his office.

&HP&

Wow, this was an emo chapter. You like it?


	8. Decisions

Ok, I did write this like… three days ago but either my computer sucks or was being mean but it wouldn't let me update! Or even log in for that matter! Grrr.

FairyQuilan: Indeed, and emo Sirius is a scary Sirius. And emo Remus is up soon, but he wont be as bad as Sirius because while he was close to Harry and while he did miss him a lot, Remus didn't think of Harry like a son like Sirius did. He wont be as scary. And le link was broken? Damn. I'll try again some other time.

Jessdarkwater: Why thank you, I myself have never lost someone at such a young age that I was so close to. So I was worried about handling it… And I had fun writing scary Sirius.

Psicat: Oh! I love long reviews like this! Ok, here we go… Yes, Remy will be the next to meet Harry, and I do believe that after being friends with Siri for so long he's already given up about his santiy. Hmmm, My guess is yes. Harry would not be adverse to the idea of Remus fainting into his arms, but he might be a bit bugged with ANOTHER person fainting. And lastly, no. I haven't planned on pairing Alice with anyone, if whole bunches of people want her to be I might, but it wasn't in my plans. She will get introduced into the wizarding world with Harry though.

And lastly to all of you, I got a review signed by a person going by "Angry Reader." Lets take a look, all right?

"slash ruins more good stroys then any thing else no I have not read much but this stroy would have been good with out the slash

slash in my book in wrong and should not be in a t rated fic if any fic period. this is a public site with young readers this should not be here.

note dont bother to respond I will not reread this to see it"

Any thoughts? And by the way, I know that people in Europe spell some things differently than here in America, so did this person spell "story" the British way… or are they just dip shits who made the same spelling mistake twice?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything… shouldn't you get this by now?

&HP&

Something extra: _"Blah, blah, blah": Elfish. _

&HP&

There was a comfortable silence around the table that night. Well, comfortable for some. While Aeson and Clara felt fine, and Artemis who was sitting on the balcony with them dozing slightly didn't find anything wrong with the silence, one person did. Harry did. He ate his food slowly, questions and accusations bubbling in his gut, finally he had enough and the silence lifted. The other occupants at the table plus Artemis looked up and he set his fork down and scowled at his plate.

"Did you know that they think I'm dead?" He said firmly, everyone else shared a look.

"What do you mean Harry?" Clara asked, setting her fork down as well. Her adoptive son sighed and looked up at her, firmness in his gorgeous green eyes.

"The humans… The think I'm dead. They think that night at the orphanage… they think I died. They found wolf tracks leading away from where I was; they think Artemis is some wild wolf from the woods that killed and ate me! And since elves don't leave tracks in the snow they could have never known that you were there too." When he finished he addressed the last part to Aeson, ignoring the irritated snort from Artemis at being called a "wild wolf".

"Well…" Aeson started with a sigh. "We didn't know for certain, but after so many years we figured they might have drawn that conclusion.

"Doesn't that bother you a bit?" Harry asked, irritation edging his voice.

"Well…. A bit, but we. Wait, how did you know?" This time it was Aeson's voice that was edged with irritation. Harry blinked and blushed as he stuttered a response.

"Well, that's not… I… uh…Ok fine… I kind of read it in one of the humans books…" Clara sat up straighter in her seat.

"What? You read one of those? How? When?" Harry sighed, knowing it was confession time.

"Well… For a few weeks now Alice and I have been secretly meeting a witch who goes to the school. She's our age and really nice. Her name is Hermionie." At the scandalized look on his family's faces he decided to continue. "It's not as bad as it sounds! She's really nice and she hasn't told a soul about either of us! Today though…" Harry trailed off, not really knowing how to approach this.

"Today what? What happened today?" Aeson asked quickly, looking at Harry in the eye. Harry blushed and fought the urge to shrink into his chair.

"She was followed… Under an invisibility cloak by her DADA Professor: Sirius Black…" Aeson, Clara and Artemis gasped at both what happened and at the name. Well Clara and Aeson did, Artemis gasped as well as a wolf could gasp. She looked awfully shocked none the less.

"Sirius Black? He was sent to prison for working for Voldemort!" Clara said breathlessly, Harry shook his head, remembering what Hermionie told him.

"He was framed, the real criminal was caught four years ago. Sirius was proven innocent and has been working in the castle ever since." Clara nodded along with Aeson.

"Yes… That makes sense, there was always something about that whole thing that bothered me…" Harry cleared his throat and fiddled with the food on his plate.

"There's another thing… Did you know that…"He looked up, locking eyes with Clara and Aeson, trying to find the words. "He's my godfather?" There was a shocked silence around the balcony and Artemis let out an odd noise from behind them.

"He… He's what?" Aeson asked slowly.

"He's my godfather. He was so… emotional when he saw me. I convinced him not to tell but… Well, you remember that plush dog I made you go back to the orphanage to get for me?" Aeson nodded. "He mentioned it, I didn't even say anything that could have remotely tipped him off! He just told me! He just knew! He talked about how he gave it to me. I remember him…" Aeson, Clara and Artemis were silent, they stood up, Harry followed suit. Aeson walked up to him and put his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Does he want you to go live with him?" Aeson sighed shakily at Harry's nod. "Do you want to live with him?" Harry looked at his feet.

"I… I don't know…" He looked up startled at a sound and was shocked to see Clara leaning against the balcony's railing, hands over her mouth and tears in her eyes. Artemis let out a whimper and plopped onto the ground, resting her head in her paws dejectedly. Harry looked back to Aeson and saw he was starring at the ground with tears in his eyes as well. "Wait, don't…" Harry put his hand on the one Aeson was resting on his shoulder. "Don't cry guys. I'm not leaving you, I just don't know. I mean... this is home for me. But you should have seen him. Sirius was so happy to see me, and when I mentioned going back here he looked heart broken at the thought of me leaving him. I just want to spend time with him, maybe even tell people… Wizards and witches I mean… Tell them about how I'm alive… Weather I like it or not I'm part of their world. People miss me, but no matter what you'll all still be my family…" this seemed to calm them all down and they nodded.

"Ok, fine. But we have to talk to Ares and Krishna." Harry nodded and they all headed over to the home of the lord and lady of the forest.

&HP&

Aeson knocked on the door and Ares opened it. As soon as he saw who it was he sent Harry a firm look. Harry gulped; Ares usually really liked him. And he wasn't particulary strict, why did he look so mad?

"It's Aeson, Clara, Artemis and Harry." He said over his Shoulder into the house. An angry shout sounded from the hall and a furious looking Krishna stormed down the hall, a terrified Alice on her tail.

"Harry I'm sorry! You just can't hide anything from these people! I HAD to tell!" Alice shouted from behind her mother.

"Harry Elandili James Potter!" Krishna yelled angrily. Harry flinched; she had used his whole name. Even the Elvin middle name they had given him. She was mad… VERY mad. "_How could you do this? What if they had hurt you! We told you a million times NOT to go there!"_ Harry flinched again. She was speaking Elfish, even though it was their native tongue Elves rarely used the language in an informal occasion. If they did then they usually didn't want to be understood by outsiders, and since there were no outsiders here it was safe to assume Krishna was just really pissed off. Harry decided to play her game as she neared at an alarming speed.

"_But Krishna! They didn't hurt me! OW!" _He let out a shout as she grabbed him painfully by the ear and led him inside, grabbing Alice on her way back and sitting them both down on the couch in their study.

"_What could have happened though!"_ Krishna shouted back, the others coming into the room behind her silently, even her husband knowing it wiser not to interject when she was like this.

"_They didn't… And I need to go back. I have to let them know about me."_ This was the wrong thing to say, Krishna gasped and looked even more furious. Harry was afraid she would yell more, he was quite surprised when she began to cry.

"_So it's just like that? You meet one human girl and you're going to leave us all behind? You… You're like another child to me Harry! How could you do this? How could you just leave me?"_ Harry bit his lip and stood up, taking her into a hug.

"_Don't cry Krishna… I'm not leaving you. I have to go back. I'm never going to leave you for good. You're like family as well. But people need me there too. My godfather was so happy to see I was alive. I can't leave him." _Krishna straightened up and looked at him at these words.

"_Godfather?" _She asked surprised. Harry realized that Alice hadn't been able to tell the whole story. So he told them everything. By the end they had agreed to let him go back and tell about them, their wards were safe enough to keep the humans away. So the next morning Harry was going to see Sirius again.

&HP&

Sirius let out a loud yawn as he sat in the old courtyard from the afternoon before. He couldn't fathom why he had agreed to meet Harry so early. Sure he did realize that no one was up this early so it was safest but the lazy side of Sirius was protesting. He was about to doze off when the bushes to his right rustled and Harry stepped out. Sirius woke up immediately and jumped up to hug him hello, Harry laughed and hugged him back. Suddenly the bushed rustled again and the biggest freaking wolf trotted out of them, golden eyes rained of Sirius. He yelped and jumped back, Harry looked at him startled and turned to see what he yelled about. When he saw the wolf he didn't look scared, but rather surprised.

"Artemis? What are you doing here?" He asked as he patted the huge wolf on the head. The wolf let out a few noises and Harry nodded. He looked back at the fearful and confused face of Sirius and began to laugh. "Sirius, don't worry. This is my friend, Artemis. She's actually the one who left the tracks of the wolf who 'killed' me. She's harmless." Sirius nodded and walked up to the wolf.

"That makes sense…" He muttered, jumping when he heard two voices behind him.

"Naa Tanya ho?" He spun around and was faced with two adult elves. One was a man with long brown hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. The one who had spoken was a slim woman with brown hair like the man and the same blue eyes. He was startled to hear Harry speak back to them, in the same weird language the woman spoke in.

"Ta ho. Llie khila amin!" The two elves looked embarrassed.

"Lye ume, aier." The man replied, Harry blushed and pouted.

&HP&

He looked up at the sound of Clara's voice.

"_Is this him?"_ She asked. Harry sighed and nodded his head.

"_It's him. You followed me!"_ He crossed his arms and Clara snickered, Aeson smiled and nodded.

"_Yes, we did. We had to short one." _Harry's cheeks flushed and he glared.

"_I can take care of myself thank you! And I am NOT short!"_ Clara laughed.

"_By Elvin standards you are."_ She turned to Sirius and eyed him critically. "So…" She started, switching to English. "You're Sirius." Sirius nodded slowly. "Well. Take care of him or I… Well, I may look harmless but I know many ways to cause you very creative and vast amounts of pain." She smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. Sirius gulped and nodded.

"Leave him alone! You're scaring him!" Harry stepped forward and looked at Sirius. "Sorry, this is Aeson and his mother Clara. They're like family to me, they're a bit protective." Sirius nodded and shook Clara and Aeson's hands.

"Of coarse. I promise I'll take care of him. With my life." They both smiled at him and nodded. "You're really her son?" Aeson raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Well it's just… You look more like siblings than anything." Sirius added with a blush, the three other people there began to laugh and the wolf made a snorting noise.

"Yes, well elves are immortal." Clara said with a chuckle. "We better go, but remember Sirius! Vast amounts of pain!" Clara added with a cheery voice. Sirius nodded and looked frightened.

"_Are you done?" _Harry asked irritated. Clara nodded and smiled at him.

"_Yup, we are. Goodbye Short one." _And with that they both headed into the forest.

"_Oh! Go kiss an orc!"_ Harry shouted back at them, getting a gasp of shock and disgust from the forest.

&HP&

Sirius was feeling a bit freaked out as he shook the pretty female elves hand. Would she really hurt him? She smiled eerily and Sirius mentally nodded, yes, she would.

"Lle tela?" Harry asked with irritation in his voice, the elves nodded.

"Lye sho! Quel re Aier!" They took off into the forest with the large wolf. Harry flushed with anger and yelled after them

"Aiya! Auto miqula orqu!" There was a shout of disgust from the forest. Harry sighed and turned back to Sirius. "Sorry about that. They're a bit crazy." Sirius nodded.

"Yeah, so am I. So what was that language?"

"Elfish." Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Ugh, duh." Harry chuckled and they walked out the courtyard and sat down by the lake.

&HP&

Remus yawned and stretched, smiling in satisfaction when his back popped. He took a sip of his morning coffee and got ready to grade papers. That's why he was up so early; he had to grade third year tests that he had procrastinated about. Before he sat at the desk in his room he glanced out the window. He loved the view out his window. It overlooked the forest and lake; it showed a part people rarely went to. His favorite part though was an old ivy covered courtyard off in the corner. He froze as he looked at a certain spot between the courtyard and lake. Walking along was Sirius Black. That in itself was odd enough, Sirius never woke up this early. But he wasn't alone. Remus luckily could get a pretty good view; his window was pretty low and his eyesight was great. It was part of his werewolf abilities. The person walking with Sirius was around 17 or 18 and he was beautiful.

From his flawless skin, shiny black and red hair, and startling green eyes, to his full pink lips, long elegant eyelashes and slim, lithe form. He was gorgeous. Remus blushed and squinted his eyes to get a better look, there was something familiar about the boy, but he couldn't place it. His clothes looked to be that of an elf but his ears were normal and human. He wondered who he was and what he was doing with Sirius. Suddenly it appeared that Sirius had said something funny and the boy began to laugh. Remus' breath caught in his throat, he looked amazing when he laughed. He felt a slight pang of jealousy though, he wanted to be the one to make the boy laugh, not Sirius.

Remus blushed again, what was wrong with him? He didn't even know this boy's name! Remus bit his lip and turned from the window, he cast one last glance and noted that they were now out of view. Sighing he turned back to his desk, knowing that there was not a chance he could focus enough to grade papers. So instead he opted to plop down on the couch and take a nap to clear his head.

&HP&

Sirius grinned again and looked at Harry brightly.

"You mean you'll come back with me?" He asked again, causing Harry to smile.

"Yes Sirius, I'll come back with you. But I don't want anything big right now. I just want to tell a few people. Like that Dumbledore guy and the professors I guess. I do-

"And Remus?" Sirius interrupted gleefully. Harry smiled and nodded, his cheeks pinkening against his own accord.

"Yes, we can tell Remus. But as I was saying I don't want some huge frenzy, like articles in the paper and telling the minister. Not yet at least. Also you can't keep me from my family. I'm willing to spend days here and sometimes even nights but please, let me go back every once in a while to have dinner with them. Or spend the night." Sirius nodded and stood up; he grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him up as well.

"Come on! Let's go introduce you to Moony!" He started to the castle, pulling a surprised Harry behind him.

"Uh… But wouldn't he be asleep?" Harry struggled to find an excuse. He was still nervous about meeting anyone, let alone the man he's had a crush on for four years.

"We'll wake him up then!" Sirius replied happily. Harry sighed in defeat and followed his godfather into the castle.

&HP&

Remus was happy. Because Remus was asleep. Remus was on no accounts lazy but he enjoyed his sleep, and getting up this early bugged the hell out of him. Suddenly he felt frantic hands shake him awake. Startled he shot up and fell off the couch. He looked up dazedly and saw Sirius standing over him, grinning like a mad man.

"Damnit Padfoot! What bloody time is it? What's the hour?" Remus slurred sleepily and angrily at his friend. Sirius grinned wider and chuckled a bit.

"What hour? Why it's the un-godly hour! Now wakey wakey! Eggs and Bakey! This is important!" Remus growled and stood up, glaring coldly at his friend. He opened his mouth to say something that would have no doubt been very crude when he stopped dead. He looked with wide eyes over Sirius' shoulder and saw the beautiful boy from before. Remus straightened up and blushed. The boy was even more attractive up close, and he had just acted like a total idiot. His heart sped up when they boy smiled hesitantly at him and gave a small wave.

"Hello." He murmured softly, pink tinting his cheeks. Remus felt butterflies bombard his gut.

"I eh… Hello." He murmured back after finding his voice. He tore his eyes from the boy and looked at Sirius expectantly. "Sirius, who—" Sirius cut him off with a grin and shake of the head.

"I'll tell you in a sec Remy." He turned to the boy and smiled at him. "Hey pup, this might take a bit. Do you think you could…" The boy smiled back and nodded. He smiled at Remus again and headed out the door to Remus' office. Sirius turned back to Remus. "Ok, where do I start…" Sirius led him back tot the couch and sat him down. "Remus… That boy has quite a story…" Sirius took a breath and began.

&HP&

Remus sat starring at Sirius once he had finished his story. His heart was beating a mile a minute and so many things were running through his head he didn't know where to start.

"So…" He started, his calm voice betraying the violent inner turmoil he was feeling. "That boy that just went into my office was raised by elves since he was three?" Sirius nodded slowly. "And that boy… That just went into my office is…" Remus took in a shaky breath. "Is… Harry?" Sirius nodded again. "You mean… Harry, Harry? Your godson, Lily and James' son, has been dead for eight years Harry?" Sirius nodded and Remus started to hyperventilate. "He's…. Oh my God…" Remus felt his eyes start to water and he starred avidly at a spot just over Sirius' shoulder. 'Think of the things you were thinking! If Sirius knew he'd be disgusted! Harry would be disgusted! You were perving on your best friend's godson!' He was startled from his thoughts when Sirius grabbed him firmly by the shoulders and looked him dead in the eye.

"Remus. Calm down. I know this is a lot to take in! You should have seen me when I found out… Well actually you sort of did, the aftermath anyways." Remus raised an eyebrow.

"You mean when you ran in here freaking out and acting like you were on a mixture of speed and LSD? That was the aftermath? Jeeze, I'm surprised Harry didn't run off screaming." Sirius glared good-naturedly and shook his head.

"I think he might have if I hadn't gotten him in a death grip like hug. But that's beside the point. Are you going to sit here all day mumbling of are you going to gather yourself and go meet him? He's been nervous as hell about meeting you. Did you know all these years him and his friend Alice have been spying on us as some sort of hobby?" The last few parts startled Remus; Harry was nervous about meeting him? This sent little butterflies to his gut again and Remus mentally scolded himself. 'No! Bad Remus. Stop perving.' Then there was the last bit; Harry had been spying on them? How odd. Remus nodded slowly and stood up, trying to ready himself. He stepped through the door to his office and saw Harry observing one of the models on his desk with interest, when they entered he looked up surprised and waited awkwardly. Remus felt himself start to cry, how could he have missed it? He had James' messy hair, mind you James NEVER had his hair that long and never had red streaks but still. And only Lily, and Harry of coarse, could ever have those eyes. He did the only thing he could think of, he strode forward and wrapped his arms around Harry, burying his face in his neck.

&HP&

Harry felt his stomach do a flip-flop as Remus pulled him into a loving hug. Blushing up a storm, Harry wrapped his arms around the older man in return, avidly aware of how warm his body was and how it felt to have Remus' hot breath against his neck. Deciding to indulge himself he relaxed into the hug and rested his cheek on Remus' shoulder. After what seemed like several minutes of pure bliss Remus pulled away and looked at him with teary golden eyes.

"God Harry… I've missed you so much. I can't believe you've been alive all this time. I can't believe you're really here…" He chocked out through his tears, Harry felt his heart melt and he smiled back.

"Don't worry Loup, I'm really here. You're not imagining things." Remus smiled and let out a small sob.

"Good. I was hoping I wasn't crazy. That was the one thing I could hold over Sirius' head for teasing." Harry laughed a bit and Sirius walked up behind them.

"And WHAT, Remus J. Lupin, are you insinuating?" He said with mock irritation.

"Oh please Sirius, anyone who has come in contact with you knows that you're completely out of your mind." Sirius snorted indignantly.

"There is a fine line between genius and insanity!" He retorted, raising his chin in the air.

"True, a fine line you seem to have extreme difficulty to cross." Remus replied coolly, causing Harry to snicker again. Remus mentally cheered himself for that; he was doing what he wanted to de, he was making Harry laugh. Sirius huffed and walked back into Remus' study and into the mini kitchen each teacher has.

"I'm going to make us some tea." He said as he left causing Remus to roll his eyes.

"Prima Dona." Harry laughed again and Remus looked at him. "So, Sirius tells me you spy on us?" Harry blushed.

"Well I wouldn't say spy exactly but… Well it's a bit of a hobby." Harry and Remus went into his study and sat on the couch while Sirius prepared tea to their left.

"A hobby? Don't Hobbies have to be interesting? What's so interesting about watching us?" Harry smiled.

"Well firstly Hobbies aren't always interesting, look at stamp collecting." Remus frowned.

"Hm, I guess you're right." Harry chuckled and continued.

"And besides. It is interesting. You humans are so weird." Remus gave a mock gasp and put his hand over his chest.

"Are you accusing me of being weird?" He was about to continue when Sirius interrupted from the kitchen.

"Remus you're a bloody freak." Remus scowled and glared at the kitchen door.

"Well it takes one to know one!" He shot back, causing Sirius to laugh.

"What are we Moony? In second grade?" Remus sat back into the couch and crossed his arms.

"Well I don't know, judging by your character we just might be." Harry laughed and watched with interest at the verbal tennis match. They seemed to have a friendship much like his and Alice's. Remus looked up at his laugh and raised an eyebrow. "Ok, I guess me might be weird… well us at least. But keep in mind that you're a human too." Harry grinned and shook his head.

"That's true Loup, by blood I indeed am a human. But I was raised by elves, so therefore my etiquette and mannerisms are that of an elf. You truly hail from where you're raised." Remus sighed and shook his head.

"You're right. I can't get you with that then. By the way, what is it that you're calling me?" Sirius came in from the kitchen with a tray of steaming tea and handed it to each of them.

"Loup." Sirius responded for Harry. "They gave us all names. I'm Shadow because of my animagus form." Remus' eyebrows raised and he sipped his tea.

"I see, where did you get 'Loup'? You seem pretty close." Harry sipped his own tea and responded.

"It means 'wolf' in French." Remus chocked on his tea and looked up at Harry startled. "Yeah, I know you're a werewolf. One of the things I learned by living with the elves is how to spot those things. Besides, one of my closest guardians is a half werewolf." Remus was relieved that Harry didn't seem offended by his illness,

"Half Werewolf?" Sirius asked from an armchair by the couch. "Was that that huge wolf thing that was in the courtyard?" Harry nodded.

"That was Artemis. And she's not a 'wolf thing'. Her father was a werewolf and one night on the full moon he mated with a timber wolf and Artemis was the outcome. An abnormally large wolf with a human mentality." Sirius and Remus nodded in understanding.

"So that's what you mean about the half werewolf thing… Odd… So Remus, you ever done it with some unsuspecting wolf in the forest? Got any wolf-human hybrid babies?" Sirius asked casually. Harry started laughing and Remus spat his tea out. He blushed deep scarlet and glared shocked at Sirius.

"No I have not! Thank you very much for that disturbing image!" Sirius laughed and bowed.

"That's what I'm here for!" Remus rolled his eyes and was about to respond when a thought hit him. He sat back and looked at Harry.

"Three or so weeks ago… By Hagrid's hut…." Harry nodded in answer to his unfinished question.

"Yeah, that was Alice and I. And I'll tell you, you scared the shite out of us…" Remus laughed.

"And by the way Remus. Guess what name they got for ol' Snivilus…" Sirius said with a smirk. Remus hummed a question from behind his cup of tea and Sirius grinned. "Bat." Remus started laughing, as did Sirius. Harry shook his head, not really knowing what was so funny. He smiled any ways and sat back, relaxing into the comfortable couch. He felt so content; he knew then that wherever he was, wizarding world or Elvin world, he would have a family.

&HP&

There you go! And by the way, Harry's Elvin name means "Half-Elf" in Elvin. And all those Elvin phrases are actual J.R.R. Tolkien translations! Woot!


	9. Meeting Albus

Bonjour my darlings! Next chapter is up! Cheer! And I am so glad you all lurve my story so much! But I need, need, need! BETA! I got an offer but the email link was busted. So please, if someone could help me out here and give me your full email address I would love you forever and praise you at the beginning of every chapter! First thing I'd like to say is to some one who wrote a review to me under the alias of "a livid fanfiction reader" this is nothing bashing so please, please, please read this.

I feel terrible that I offended you so much, truth be told is that what this person said really hurt me and made a lesbian friend of mine who was reading over my shoulder cry. So obviously I was pissed off, and as for insulting entire countries? That's not at all what I meant at all! I have a lot of British friends and plan on moving there when I'm old enough. I've simply noticed that some words over in England and other European countries spell certain words differently than in America, I didn't want to say they misspelled it and find out they were spelling it how they were taught. I didn't put it was slash in the summary because I wasn't sure at first and people requested it and I never got around to changing it, I'm getting to that now. I'm terribly sorry that I offended you so much and truly apologize. No joke.

FairyQuilan: Well, judging by what Harry looks like I wouldn't be surprised if someone got lusty. And I had to use Tolkien's elfish. I suck at making languages up. Not to mention I think it rocks too.

Fanfictionfreak: As for my terrible grammar and spelling. Would you be willing to fill my BETA slot? **Flutters eyelashes and grins**

Jarno: Oh! I feel so accomplished! I'm glad you're willing to be open-minded. But now I'm worried I wont live up to everyone's expectations and fail in extreme shamefulness.

critic unknown: Hell yeah! I like your argument! And as for if there's going to be a sex scene between Remus and Harry… Well they probably will… Ehem. But I'll probably just have them snogging and getting all hot and bothered then cut to the next morning with them asleep in bed. Then most likely write the sex scene and post the link to it in my profile if people want to see it.

Xurtan: Oh… Having Sirius walking in on them snogging. Interesting way to find out… Hm. And a lovely image as well. And this pairing is so rare isn't it?

Now on with the story!

Disclaimer: Hey! GUESS WHAT! I'm actually J.K. Rowling disguised as a 14-year-old girl from San Diego. I wanted to do something different and so voila! Want to know another secret? That was all a lie. You are no doubt shocked beyond belief.

&HP&

The magical grandfather clock ticked away against the wall besides them as Harry wrung his hands nervously and Remus watched him as he sipped tea. Remus cocked his head a bit, Harry seemed so incredibly nervous. Remus smiled, Harry looked so adorable when he was worried. After a quick mental slap for previous thoughts Remus set his tea down and locked his golden eyes with Harry's own startling green ones.

"Are you ok?" He asked softly. Harry gave a small half smile and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm fine… I'm just nervous…" The black haired teen replied. Remus nodded in understanding. It was expected. Sirius had gone to the other room to fire call Albus and ask for a meeting. They were going to introduce him to Harry.

"Don't worry. Albus isn't a mean or judgmental man, he's actually extremely understanding. He won't dislike you, after all… He's missed you greatly as well." Remus reassured with a wry grin. Harry looked up from his lap with a surprised look on his delicate features.

"He's missed me too?" Remus nodded. "Wow… More people missed me than I thought…" Harry murmured eyes averting and a light blush gracing his cheeks. Remus studied his face quietly and answered the question he could tell Harry was thinking.

"You don't have to feel guilty for not letting yourself be known sooner. It may be true that many people were devastated at the news of your death, but how were you to know any of this? You didn't even know that people thought you were dead. You shouldn't have the mindset that you did anything wrong at all. You're not a burden Harry… You're a gift." Remus said with his usual soft and soothing voice. Harry loved that voice; it was so strong and steady. At the same time though it was so relaxing and sweet. At this voice and these kind, soothing words Harry felt himself relax and melt into the large, overstuffed couch. His legs came up to rest nest to him, bent at the knees. He smiled at his company and starred at him fondly.

"You're even better than I imagined…" Harry whispered to himself absentmindedly. Remus raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.

"I'm sorry, didn't catch that. What did you say?" He asked, causing Harry to snap from his trance to realize what he had just said. He blushed and looked back to his lap quickly.

"Nothing." Harry replied quickly. Remus frowned a bit, he had said it too quickly, something was up. He was about to say something when Sirius came back in.

"Well, the headmaster says that we can come in now. Are you ready?" He said as he entered with a grin. Harry smiled back and stood up. Remus did the same.

"I'm ready. But how are we going to get there? You know, without anyone seeing me." Sirius grinned wider and held up the same cloak he had used to spy on Hermionie that one day.

"Under this of course!" He tossed him the cloak and Harry put it on, dissapering

instantly. "Just follow me and Moony." Sirius informed invisible Harry as him and Remus walked through the corridors of Hogwarts to the headmaster's office. Harry did just that as he gawked at the massive stonewalls and intricate paintings all over them. Every once in a while they would pass a student, or teacher or even a ghost and Harry was fascinated. He grinned when he saw Hermionie walk by talking to the red headed girl she was with the faithful day they met and a taller red headed boy Harry presumed was the boy Hermionie had mentioned. His name was Ron and Hermionie had accidentally let it out one day to Harry and Alice that she fancied him. Alice had then decided to give her several flirting tips. Tips like being casual and cool around them, trying to talk about some things they like and try to show an interest to learn about these things. Lastly were the simple classics, like smile and innuendoes here and there, and the hair flip while you're talking to him. As the three teens passed Hermionie flipped some of her light brown hair from her face and smiled at something Ron was saying. Harry silently chuckled.

'Oh, good girl Hermionie…' He thought as they came to a large stone gargoyle. Sirius put his hands out to the gargoyle and spoke.

"Fizzing Wizzbees." He said clearly, causing the Gargoyle to jump aside for them to pass. They headed up the stairs and to a large wooden door. Remus was about to ask when an old voice came from inside.

"Come on in Remus, you too Sirius." The voice said, the two men shared a look and walked through the door, Harry following under the cloak. At the desk was Bumblebee with a tired smile on his face and a brilliant phoenix on a perch behind him. "Take a seat, would you like some tea? A lemon drop perhaps?" Both men politely declined and sat. "Very well than, moving on. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" He asked kindly, popping a yellow candy into his mouth. Before Sirius could say what he opened his mouth to say Fawks let out a beautiful trill and flew off his perch. They watched in surprise as he flew over to the invisible form of Harry Potter and perched on his shoulder, rubbing his head against his cheek affectionately. Remus and Sirius, Harry and Remus were surprised at two things. One was that Fawks could obviously see Harry and two was that he was being so affectionate to Harry. Albus was merely surprised at the fact that his pet phoenix was perched on thin air.

"Well…. That's what we wanted to talk to you about." Sirius started when he had turned back to the elderly man. "Recently I met a wizard boy who had been living with elves in the forbidden forest since he was three. After talking to him he's decided he wants to be re-introduce to the wizarding world. He doesn't want any press field days so he wants to only meet a few people for now. So far the only people who know about him are Remus and I. And a 7th year named Hermionie Granger; She was the first one to meet him. And now you'll know too." Albus starred at his levitating phoenix and nodded. Sirius looked at him too and spoke. "There's another thing Albus… It's going to be quite a shock of who the boy is… you can take the cloak off now Harry." Albus' eyes widened, Harry? He couldn't mean who he thought he meant. Be fore he could deny it any longer the invisibility cloak fell away, causing Fawks to fly back to his perch and a tall boy to appear before him. It was obvious that this boy had been raised by elves; he looked every bit elfish except the ears and aura. What stood out about him were his eyes though. They were so vivid and so purely green it was breathtaking. Albus was assaulted with memories of a fiery red headed Griffindor he had grown to love like a daughter. The boy's messy hair causing memories of her eventual husband that he had also grown so incredibly fond of. If there was any doubt left in his mind it was diminished at the faint lightning bolt scar that was nearly hidden by the boy's bangs.

"It can't be…" He whispered finally, tears coming to his lightly twinkling blue eyes. "Harry?" He asked as he stood and walked closer to the boy slowly. His old worn face broke into a smile. The smile was soft and small but it held so much joy and laughter it was almost inconceivable. Albus walked forward and hugged the long lost boy he had thought of as practically a grandson. Harry hugged him back, realizing that he would be getting hugged a lot; mostly by people he couldn't remember so he should go with it.

&HP&

Albus stood at his window looking out at the student dotted school grounds with a serene smile and tear streaked face. Harry, Sirius, and Remus had left a bit ago after they had all talked. Albus had been filled in more about Harry's story and he agreed to let Harry stay in the castle for as long as he wanted. He had given him his own room next to Remus and Sirius' that had a bathroom, kitchen and common room so he wouldn't have to leave for every little thing and could stay hidden. Sirius was also going to give him the marauders map and invisibility cloak for when he did have to leave. Albus' twinkling eyes wandered to the forbidden forest and he remembered Hagrid's words from six years ago.

_"Funny that' 'e's been so near by all these years."_ Albus chuckled to himself. How true that statement was, if only they had known… That didn't matter, Harry was here and everything was ok. Fawks flew over and perched on the windowsill, nudging Albus' cheek with his beak. Albus looked at him with a smile and pet his smooth feathers.

"All better Fawks. Everything is all better now…" He said before looking back to his students as they wandered and played on the grounds below.

&HP&

Did ya like it? Love it? Hate it? Tell me! And remember! I NEED BETA!


	10. The midnight chat and pink pajamas

Wow! I feel so loved! I got so much BETA help! So I just randomly selected one of you who offered. Don't be offended if I didn't choose you. It was nothing personal. Also, one of my lovely reviewers that goes by the name of critic unknown suggested I use more British slang. So I'm going to try to do just that, if any of you have any complaints or if you want to know what a certain word I used meant, just ask. I'm sorry if it was annoying that I'm making these British people sound so un-British, but that's what you get when a southern Californian Yankee writes this shit. On to answering reviews!

SolitaryPoison: Well I'm glad to know that I'm not brutally offending anyone. It's always a worry to me that everyone over in Europe and just about everywhere else is laughing their arses off at us stupid Americans with our stupid war and legally retarded leader. I hate that stereotype. I hate Bush and the war. I'm a hippie. Ok, sorry. That's the end of my little rant there. As you've probably figured I've selected you for BETA. I do hope you manage to put up with my shite spelling and all of my other nonsense.

critic unknown: as you read in the first part of my beginning notes, I'm going to attempt adding British slang. Thanks for the site; it's both helpful and interesting. And I'll take the advice you gave me about the web address for the sex scene thing. As you've probably figured I've selected you for BETA.

Queenofdakittys: oh thank you dearie. And that would suck, Malfoy finding out. I'm sure Harry would just love all that publicity. But you're right… He wouldn't mind looking to Remus for comfort. "Oh Harry, I'm so sorry all this is happening. Let me hold you in my arms whilst you rest your pretty little head on my shoulder to cry." He he.

shadow hunter 01: no prob. I'm guessing you've read the pairings now judging by your response. Remus/Harry and Ron/ Hermione. Hope it doesn't put a damper on your reading.

Layce74: HELLS YEAH! You tell 'em! That's an interesting way to look at it and I agree! Thanks for your support.

sami1010220: Thank you, and you're right. Bigots like that are unavoidable. And don't worry… I have my plans for our two lovebirds… **evil smirk**

Xurtan: Yeah, sorry about that. I know it was short, sorry. But one of my friends (the one who types nonsense and curse words of praise in reviews) was begging me for another chapter, so I tried. Sorry if it sucked.

Well, that's it. But I would like to take a moment to thank the people who offered BETA to me: SolitaryPoison, fanfictionfreak, Coreys-angel, Rikke Leonhart. Thanks to all of you! Now onto the story!

&HP&

The Hogwarts grounds were silent and dark. It startled Harry how incredibly different the grounds were during the nighttime. Elves had a bit of a nocturnal vibe and you could always be sure that no matter how late you went out in the glade you would be sure to see one or two people out and about. Not at Hogwarts. The usually busy and noisy grounds and halls of the castle were silent as a graveyard and more barren than a desert. The only movement Harry could spot was the occasional rustle of bushes or trees caused by either the wind or a night walking animal at the edge of the forest.

Remus and Sirius had gone to sleep ages ago and Harry found it nearly impossible to go to sleep. He smiled briefly at the thought of his godfather and Remus. Though Sirius and Harry hadn't known each other for many years Sirius didn't yield in his affection to Harry. He was glad of this fact. He first thought it might be awkward, sitting with the man he was supposed to have lived with but didn't, the man he hadn't seen for nearly his whole life, the man who thought he had been dead for that same amount of time. He was wrong. Their conversation was anything but awkward; Sirius was kind and had a fatherly quality to him. Yet he was fun and seemed like a best friend rather than a parental figure. He could tell that the illegal animagi truly cared for him deeply, he would be talking to Remus or reading and would look up to find Sirius watching him fondly with a small smile. Normally this would have unnerved Harry. He always hated people starring at him, but with Sirius it was comforting.

Then there was Remus. Oh Remus… If Harry had any doubt that he had a crush on the older man it was gone. The more he got to know Remus the more appealing he was. He was almost contradicting to Sirius yet the got along famously. Unlike Sirius, Remus was calmer and quieter. He was sweet and soft spoken, but at the same time he was witty and had a wicked sense of humor to his name. Just like Sirius Harry would catch Remus starring at him at many random moments. When Harry caught Sirius starring his godfather would smile wider but keep on starring. When he caught Remus starring Remus would smile quickly and look away, sometimes Harry would swear that a small blush would appear on his cheeks as well… But he was most likely just imagining it. Harry didn't mind Remus watching him as much as he normally minded being watched. But it did make him nervous. He felt so flustered under the intense stare of those amazing golden eyes. Aside from the ever-growing schoolboy crush Harry had, the afternoon had been fantastic.

He had spent a lot of time talking to his two new companions. They had told him stories of their school days, including many stories about his parents. Harry loved these stories in particular, though the stories about their pranks and jokes around the school were great, he loved hearing about the parents no one had been able to tell him about before. He had told them stories about him and Alice back in the forest and the antics that took place with their earlier days of people watching, the days before they were experienced in the art of spying. Like the time Hagrid and Snape had come into the very edge of the forest for potions ingredients and Hagrid had almost caught them. Alice thought quickly and grabbed a decent sized stone and hurled it to an area behind the half-giant, hopping the noise would distract them. She had succeeded; in her own way… the stone had hit something that made a great deal of noise when hit that caused Hagrid to turn around. The only thing was that the particular thing she had managed to hit was the back of Snape's head. Harry and Alice had quickly run back to their homes, laughing the whole way. This story had provoked a lot of laughter from his avid listeners as well.

They had eaten meals in their rooms and Harry was sleeping in a spare bedroom that was nestled in between Sirius and Remus' own rooms. Well, he was supposed to be sleeping, as expected he was sitting on the window ledge looking out at the black glossy lake, silent forest, and shadowed town of Hogsmade. He sighed and slid off the windowsill and wandered across the room. He hated this feeling, he was tired, tired enough to feel lethargic and have his eyes feel itchy and gravelly. But he wasn't tired enough to sleep. Harry sat on the edge of his bed and eyed the door that was on the left of the room. He had to use the loo and there was only one way to get there. But he didn't want to wake Remus up, so after a quick mental debate, he stood and creeped over to it silently. He turned the knob and pushed it open silently and peered inside. The room was dark but years of living with elves in a forest caused his eyes to adjust to the darkness quickly and saw Remus sleeping calmly in his bed. Harry pushed the door closed behind him and much to his dismay it squeaked loudly as he did so. Remus stirred slightly in his bed. Harry bit his lip and stalked quietly over to the bed and looked down at the occupant to make sure he hadn't woken him up. Remus had a serene look on his handsome face and his hair was splayed across the pillow. He had one of his hands up and tucked behind the pillow and the other hand was draped carelessly over his chest. Harry's cheeks burned. It was draped over his _bare_ chest. His bare and quite well toned chest. His blanket was down around his waist and tangled in his long legs. From what Harry could see, Remus was just wearing some loose pajama pants. He swallowed the lump in his throat and continued quickly to use the loo.

Harry finished his business and walked back through Remus' silent room, forcing himself not to look at his half-naked crush that was sleeping in the bed just to the right of him. He was cautious of the squeak in the door when he closed it once he was back in his own room.

"Heya, Mate!" Chirped a voice from the window. Harry jumped and let out a few quick curses in surprise. He looked quickly to the window and saw Alice sitting on the sill with her legs dangling over the side to his room and a cheeky smile. "How goes it love?" Harry starred at her for a few moments, still a bit surprised to find her sitting in his window, but eventually moved away from the door to walk towards her.

"Well… I suppose it's fine… What on Earth are you doing here? I would've thought your mother would have grounded you to hell and back after what happened last night." Alice snorted and rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Oh no, she did. So naturally I climbed out my window and dashed through the forest to see my mate like the degenerate I am." She replied casually. "Besides, it seems like I haven't seen you in yonks!" It was Harry's turn to roll his eyes.

"Alice, it's only been a day." He said with a smirk, knowing full well that it must have seemed like ages to her because she had no doubt spent all day wondering how things were going for him and what he'd learned about humans. She gave a great sigh and got off of his window ledge and went to plop down onto his bed.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm not daft. So what did you do all day? What's Shadow like? And what about Loup? Have you confessed your undying love to him? Were you coming from his room because you both just had a brilliant shag? Come on Harry! I'm dying here! Give me some news!" Harry was torn between being amused by her antics and embarrassed at her suggestion that he just had a romp with Remus.

"Sirius is fantastic, real nice and funny. No I haven't confessed my undying love and no I didn't just shag him, I was using the loo thank you very much." Harry said blushingly as he sat backwards on a chair sitting at a desk in the room so he was facing Alice. "I was practically having kittens at the thought of just meeting him. Let alone shagging him. Besides… He wouldn't want to shag me anyways." Harry cursed the disappointed tinge that found it's way into his voice as he said the last bit. He hoped that Alice hadn't caught it. She had.

"Aww! Don't be sad Harry! He's probably having a dream about boffing you right now!" She said, partly teasing and partly reassuring him. Harry made an interesting noise and blushed more.

"Come off it already! Can we please change the subject?" He asked with irritation edging his voice.

"All right! All right! No need to get narked! So Sha- eh… Sirius is cool?" She said, raising her hands in apologetic defense.

"Yeah, he's really brilliant. Funny, nice, entertaining, and he really seems to care about me." Alice smiled and nodded her head.

"Yeah, I always thought he would be, judging by what we saw of him. And of course he loves you! Everyone loves ickle Harry; you're just a cuddly guy! So, what's Remus like?" Harry took a moment to realize that he had just been referred to as cuddly before replying.

"He's really nice. Sweet, calm, even-tempered, and real funny as well. Him and Sirius sort of have a friendship like ours. They're always making fun of each other and teasing each other." Alice giggled and grinned.

"How is that like our friendship you birk?" Harry chuckled.

"Figure it out on your own you dolt." Alice laughed a bit and continued her rapid fire of questions about what happened. Harry told her to shush and explained his whole day, starting with meeting up with Sirius. Harry mentioned seeing Hermione in the halls and Alice burst out laughing.

"Oh wow! She actually followed our advice! Oh that's priceless! Was she doing it right?" Harry nodded with a smile and Alice continued laughing. Harry shook his head and poked her laughter shaken body with his foot.

"Oy, shut up will ya? You're going to wake them up you git!" This only seemed to make Alice laugh harder as she fought to conceal the noise of her mirth by putting her hands over her mouth. It was all in vain because moments later the door opened and a very sleepy Sirius Black stumbled through the door with his wand in hand. Harry had been keeping it together but this was the last straw. Sirius' long black hair was an absolute mess and he had a fluffy pink dressing gown draped over his broad shoulders. His face was a flawless picture of confusion and overwhelming sleepiness. (1) Harry lost it and joined Alice's violent laughter, which had increased at the sight before them. Sirius starred at them blankly looking even more lost than before. They were so caught up in their fits of laughter they didn't notice the other door open and Remus step in the doorway with a curious look on his face. He was tired looking as well but still better off than Sirius. His hair was less of a mess and the dressing gown he wore loosely around his thin frame was black, not pink. He was quite surprised to find a disheveled and pink clad Sirius black standing in the doorway. He was starring at two people sitting on Harry's bed who seemed to find the picture Sirius painted absolutely hilarious, it was, but Remus was too confused to laugh at the moment. One of the people was a pretty blonde elf girl that Remus didn't recognize and the other was Harry. Remus watched Harry for several moments, he was absolutely beautiful when he laughed, but then again he was beautiful to start with. Harry was the first to recover and wiped some tears from his eyes. "Ah, sorry Sirius, we didn't mean to wake you up… hahaha. Nice dressing gown by the way…" Sirius blinked and looked down, immediately blushing scarlet.

"Oh… well…. Yeah. It was the first robe I grabbed, I didn't really look at what I put on." He murmured in his defense. The three occupants of the room looked to the other door when they heard a soft chuckle. Harry blushed a bit to find Remus standing in said doorway in nothing but dark red drawstring pants that rode somewhat low on his hips and a black robe that tied loosely around his waist. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face.

"Dare I ask why you had a pink robe in your closet to start with?" He asked calmly, causing Sirius to blush again and tilt his head.

"Yes… Well I don't really know…" He muttered, sincerely confused. Harry and Alice started laughing again but forced themselves not to break into another laughing fit. "So." Sirius started, looking back to Harry and Alice. "What exactly is going on?" Alice answered with a smile.

"Sorry to wake you Mr. Black, You probably remember me, I'm Alice, Harry's friend." She leaned forward so she was able to look at Remus better. "And nice to meet you Loup!" Remus smiled and returned the phrase, Alice looked back to Sirius. "I was dying with curiosity as to what was going on and what dear Harry was up to and snuck out of my house to pay him a visit. He was telling me about his day and about you two when he mentioned something funny and I laughed. That accidentally woke you up and… well you came in and… well…" She smiled and looked to Harry.

"You came in and it just got funnier." He finished for her, causing Remus to laugh and Sirius to glare good-naturedly.

"I'm glad I'm so bloody amusing. And I'm not sure that I should approve of this late night booty call." Remus had stopped laughing and looked up sharply at these words, looking to Harry to see how he reacted. He was relieved to see that both him and Alice look terrified.

"Ew!" They both chorused together.

"Sirius that's sick! Alley is my best mate! I've known her forever! Me shagging her would be like you shagging Remus!" Harry's declaration caused both Remus and Sirius to gasp in disgust. (2)

"Oh ew. That's… That was unnecessary." Remus muttered with a sour look on his face.

"Sorry, I wanted to prove my point." Harry said with a smile. Sirius sighed and walked further into the room.

"So what was it you two were talking about?" Alice and Harry smiled and began telling him and Remus about the day they spent with Hermione that Alice liked to refer to as "flirting 101". After hours of talking Alice gave a great sigh and stood up.

"Well, It's getting late. My mom will kill me! See you mates." They all said their goodbyes and Alice climbed back out the window. Sirius stood up and moved back to his room.

"She's right. It's late as hell. You should go to bed Harry." Harry nodded and returned the quick one-armed hug Sirius gave him before disappearing into his room. Harry got into his bed and Remus gave him a smile.

"Night Harry. Sweet dreams." He said before heading back into his own rooms. Harry smiled at him too.

"Goodnight Remus." The lights went out and Harry was asleep in no time.

&HP&

Hehehe… I loved this image. If anyone likes to draw fan art I would adore a picture of that. Heh.

I'm actually a fan of SB/RL but since Remmy is paired with someone else I'm going to make them like brothers. And therefore the idea of shagging is gross.

So, how do you think I did with the British slang? Was it crap? Was it good? Tell me. And if you're lost on a few words just ask. They're all pretty self-explanatory though.


	11. The truth comes out

Hello my dearies! I don't have much of a beginning announcement, but I do have one request: Does anyone like to draw fanart as well? Because I would love you forever if someone drew me a pic of Sirius in pink fluffy pajamas looking all out of it. I actually drew one already, on Deviant Here's the link if you want to see it:

"http colon slash slash www dot deviantart dot com slash deviation slash 20465760 slash" Just a word of warning though. It sucks. To get the link just copy and paste in your address box, then replace the words like "colon", "slash", and "dot" with ":" "/" and "." Right! Moving on!

Coreys-angel: I'm glad that my mental image got many laughs. And hope you do post more on your stories!

Talons: oh… heh… Well I think Remus and Harry are very……… "Aware" of each other, but if you mean noticing the others attraction as well? Oh, well in due time my dear. Due time.

Queenofdakittys: Indeed, I doubt he'll ever live that down. And as for Remus? Yes, he does provoke a lovely image doesn't he?

Xurtan: Well thank you, I do love getting these long reviews! And I had a good laugh at the image of a person saying "wotcher" in a Texan accent… But I can't blame you either. I accidentally use British slang randomly due to the books as well. Moving on, yes, Remus will have to deal with some issues. And yes, Sirius will have an… interesting reaction. **evil smirk**

sami1010220: Aww! Thank you dearie!

me, you horrid wanker: Charming name Danielle. And yes, I love you too. It seems that Sirius and Remus, along with Harry and Alice have similar friendships to ours.

**Memory**: Me: Hey bitch!

You: I ain't your bitch, bitch!

Me: yeah, but you're still a bitch!

You: aw, you too.

And don't we ALL want to shag Sirius?

Proffesor Rich: Ehe, He'll figure it out eventually. Don't worry! I have a plan!

Ok, So since this is AU I'm gonna ignore the 6th book (duh.) **Blank** is still alive and **other blank** isn't evil!

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Cry tears of sorrow for me!

PS I'd like to thank my BETA SolitaryPoison for fixing my terrible grammar!

ON WITH THE STORY!

&HP&

Harry yawned and stretched as he sat up in bed and looked out the window to see that the sun was just beginning to rise. He got up and grabbed some of the clothes Sirius left for him on his dresser on his way into Remus' room. To use the shower; not to check the man out. Nor to see how he would react to waking up with Harry looking disheveled and wearing just his form fitting pants that he wore yesterday when wandering through his room. Harry put these thoughts aside as he climbed into the shower and relaxed under the warm water bombarding his body. He ducked his head under the spray to soak his hair. He began to wash it; after all, elves didn't get such flawless hair by never washing it. When Harry told someone that he washed his hair frequently they would most likely gape and ask if it took hours. Harry smirked at the thought. Elves weren't on the cutting edge of magic for nothing. After soaking it down, a few well placed spells, and another rinse down he was done. Harry turned the shower off and climbed out of the shower. He dried himself off and used a spell to make his hair damp rather than soaking. Then he moved over to the sink and picked up the clothes Sirius left him.

Several minutes later Harry stood in front of the mirror and gaped at his reflection. Sirius had pulled out some of his old clothes from back in his 5th or 6th year to use, Harry hadn't asked why he still had his old clothes. But this was ridiculous! Harry may be small but he wasn't THIS small. He now wore a skin-tight shirt that just barley covered his stomach; it was normal white with very long black sleeves. Sleeves so long that they covered his hands, revealing just the tips of his fingers. The shirt was worn in and had faded red letters across the front that said "The Weird Sisters". Harry had no clue what "the Weird Sisters" were though. Then there were the trousers. He was wearing what he knew to be called "jeans". They were a light, faded blue color and were also very tight. They had several frayed, white spots as well as full-blown rips. The biggest rips being over both his knees and one on his upper and outer thigh. The trousers sat low on his hips and in combination with the shirt showed a fair but not gaudy amount of his toned stomach, the bottoms flared out and bunched around his feet.

Harry sighed and decided to talk to Sirius about some better clothing choices next time. He grabbed a strip of black leather that was lying on the pile of his old clothes and used it to pull his hair back. He pulled it into a sort of loose bun that rested against his neck and allowed several stray black and red hairs to fall in his face. Turning away from the mirror, Harry walked back through Remus' room to put his old clothes back on his dresser. He was completely oblivious to how Remus would react to waking up to find Harry walking through his room looking like THAT.

&HP&

The quiet was peaceful yet a tiny bit un-nerving. Harry was used to the noises of the forest or the ramblings of Alice to mingle through the quiet while he read. He wasn't quite used to the only sound being the picking of the grandfather clock to his left. Dispite the oddness of it, it was strangely relaxing and Harry found himself in an almost meditative state as he read in the big arm-chair by the window. Bumblebee had taken Remus, Sirius, and Harry's three common rooms and magically connected all of them for the time being. It was getting later, as Harry noted when he looked at the clock, but Remus and Sirius were still asleep. He supposed that they weren't used to staying up till about 4 in the morning, so it wasn't too surprising. He was about to get back to reading his book when there was a knock at the door. Harry looked up in surprise, who would be up this early? Aside from him. The knock was heard again and Harry looked to the doors to Remus and Sirius' rooms, he had no clue what to do. Then a shimmer of silver was in view. He looked over to see the invisibility cloak draped over the back of the couch. He stood quickly and threw the cloak over his head as he moved to the door. He pulled it open to reveal Hermione Granger with her hand up, as if she was about to knock again. She wore a look of surprise and starred at the empty space in the doorframe. Harry smiled and watched her look around in puzzlement for a bit.

"Professor Black?" She said with obvious confusion in her voice as she peered at the empty room through the open door.

"Ms. Granger!" He bit his lip to stop from laughing when she jumped at the sound of his voice. "Do you know what time it is?" Her look remained flabbergasted and Harry couldn't stop. Once he saw that the corridor behind her was abandoned he pulled the cloak off and let the laughter he had been holding in out.

&HP&

Hermionie gasped as Harry came into view from under the invisibility cloak. The first thing she noticed was his clothes. They were tight, slightly revealing, and at the same time extremely casual. His hair was pulled into a loose bun and was glistening with the fading remains of water. Overall he looked hot as hell. Hermionie shook her head and glared at Harry as he continued to laugh at her.

"Oh shush you little prat!" She snapped good-naturedly as he stepped aside to let her in. Once they were in Harry stopped laughing and looked at her.

"Heh, sorry 'Mione. What are you doing here?" He asked as they both sat on comfortable chairs.

"I came to ask Professor Black about how his meeting with you went, I wondered if you decided to stay in the castle. I guess you did then?" Harry smiled at her and nodded.

"Yeah, sort of… I've decided to reveal myself to the wizarding world slowly but surely, and I'm not leaving the forest completely." Hermionie grinned and settled into her chair.

"Brilliant! Oh! Does this mean you've met Professor Lupin?" Harry blushed a bit and nodded. "Oh! Spill it! What do you think of him now that you've met him first hand?" Harry sighed and blushed again, he got a dreamy look on his face and slowly stood up.

"I'll go make us a spot of tea." He mumbled as he headed to the small kitchen in the back. Hermionie laughed and smiled at him.

"Aw… I take it that you found him rather tidy then? You must be thrilled he met your expectations, if not more." Hermionie replied with a smirk, this caused Harry to snort.

"Bloody hell, between you and Alice… If sexual suggestions and innuendoes were buckets of water I'd have drowned ages ago. And as for being thrilled that he's bloody fantastic? Well then yeah, sure. Because now the guy I utterly fancy is even more amazing and even more out of my reach. I'm just chuffed." He muttered sarcastically as he turned to continue to the kitchen.

"Out of your reach how?" Hermionie was about to get her answer when the door right next to Harry opened and someone fell out.

&HP&

Sirius slowly felt consciousness drift back into his head and scrunched his eyes, trying to will it to go away. Eventually he gave up and stumbled into his bathroom and took a quick shower, afterwards he put on some loose muggle clothes and decided to dress better when it was actually time to go teach. He moved to the door and stopped when he heard faint voices on the other side. The first one was a younger female's voice.

"Aw… I take it that you found him rather tidy then? You must be thrilled he met your expectations, if not more." The voice said somewhat tauntingly, the second voice that sounded more masculine snorted lightly before responding.

"Bloody hell, between you and Alice… If sexual suggestions and innuendoes were buckets of water I'd have drowned ages ago." Sirius realized that the second voice was Harry's. He wondered whom it was that he was talking to and whom they were talking about. "And as for being thrilled that he's bloody fantastic? Well then yeah, sure. Because now the guy I utterly fancy is even more amazing and even more out of my reach. I'm just chuffed."

'Oh wow! I wonder who it could be? Ugh! Say a name damnit!' Sirius thought as he leaned closer to the door.

"Out of your reach how?" Sirius' hand slipped on the door handle, causing it to turn. The hard surface he was leaning on was suddenly moving away very fast and he found a new hard surface. The ground. He looked up quickly and found Harry looking down at him in surprise and a tiny bit of panic. Hermione sat in the chair by the fire looking at him with just as much surprise.

"………………. What's up?" He said sheepishly, flashing Harry a nervous and cheesy grin. Harry groaned and slapped his hand to his forehead.

"How much did you hear?" He muttered, extremely embarrassed.

"Um… From the 'tidy' comment and on." Harry groaned again and glared a bit at Hermione.

"Well fantastic! Now Sirius knows! Might as well go write it in six foot neon letters on the north-east wall!" Harry snapped out, throwing his hands in the air. Sirius pouted.

"Hey!" Harry looked down at Sirius and got an apologetic look on his face.

"Sorry Sirius. I didn't mean it like that. You didn't hear who it is though, right?" Sirius shook his head and stood up.

"Nope, but I have a niggling interest to it!" He gave a hopeful grin and Harry sighed in defeat.

"If I refuse to tell you, you won't drop it will you?" Sirius nodded in reply, Harry cast a quick look to the other, unopened door and leaned in to whisper the name. "Just promise you won't freak out…" The next words were whispered in his ear. "It's… eh. Bugger. It's Remus, alright?" Harry pulled away quickly and bit his lip, reading Sirius' expression with worry on his own face. Behind him Hermione looked on curiously as well. They didn't quite like what they saw; Sirius had a sort of black surprise on his face. The blank look was better than the angry frown that appeared moments later.

"Are you shitting me?" Harry flinched and Hermione sighed as she sunk into her chair. "Harry! He's 24! For pity's sake!" He growled out, this time he was the one throwing his hands in the air.

"Shove off! There's no need to get shirty! I know how old he is! He's only 7 years older than me! That's not that much!" Harry shot back, crossing his hands over his chest.

"But it's still 7 years! And he was one of your mum and dad's best friends! HE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL WHEN YOU WERE BORN, DAMNIT!" Harry stopped, that was a bit odd. But still.

"So what! He was my mum and dad's best friend so that means he cares about me and would take good care of me! And since he was their friend and IS yours then that means you like him! That they liked him! So I don't see the bloody problem!" Harry sighed out in frustration and leaned against the wall looking a bit put out. "Besides. You heard me. He's out of my reach. He's out of my league. I wouldn't have a chance so I'm not going to go flaunting myself in leather trousers or something and eating bananas suggestively. You're not really helping me by giving me these tiny clothes by the way. But anyroad, you should stop fretting. My carnal treasure is safe from the big bad wolf." They both looked up quickly as Hermione burst out laughing.

"Ahahaha! Sorry! But that was hilarious!" She bit her lip to stop from laughing and only resulted in making a sort of snicker/snorting noise. Harry rolled his eyes and looked back at the ground while Sirius looked at him in silence for a while.

"Well…." Harry nervously looked up as Sirius spoke. "I'm sorry I snapped. It came as a shock." Harry nodded in acceptance and understanding. "I… Well I guess you two would be cute. And he would take care of you, and I know he's a good guy… So… I guess you can go suck off a banana in front of him, just make sure I'm not there ok?" Harry smiled at him and nodded.

"Right. Thanks Siri. But I told you. I haven't a chance." Sirius shared a look with Hermione.

"Harry, love?" Hermione started up. "Have you ever looked in a mirror?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Well of course I have. Why?" The door suddenly opened and a fully dressed Remus Lupin came out.

"Moony!" Sirius shouted quickly, getting a panicky look on his face. "Did you hear anything?" Remus raised an eyebrow.

"I woke up to someone yelling 'damnit' at the top of their lungs. I quickly realized it was you and therefore opted to stop listening and went to take a shower. Then I came up to the door and heard people talking about mirrors. Why do you ask?" Remus' eyes then fell on Harry and instantly widened, his cheeks gaining a pink tinge. "Harry! Um, interesting clothing choice." Harry blushed deeply and wrapped his arms around his exposed mid-drift.

"Oh, right. Well blame Sirius for turning me into some grunge-rock bint." They both looked up after a bit when Sirius didn't shoot back in defense. They saw him looking between them with a distant and slightly saddened look on his face. He was daydreaming about the last time he saw Harry before he disappeared. He had been an innocent little baby with a cold. Sirius' eyes fell upon Harry again and he spoke.

"You threw up on James…" He muttered sadly, causing everyone in the room to give him an odd look. With a large sigh he turned and headed for the kitchen. 'Where do the years go? He's not a baby anymore…' He thought as he neared the kitchen door.

"Sirius, where are you going?" Remus asked his retreating back. He replied without turning around.

"To hide the bananas." He muttered dejectedly.

&HP&

Oh lala! I'm going to London for three weeks on Tuesday! Woohoo!


	12. filler Chapter sorry

Hello my darlings! I'm so freaking sorry that I haven't updated in… ever. In my defense I had no idea what the next chapter should have! Plus, school started again (ew) and I have homework and all that sadistic crap.

Before I do the review replies I have this to say:

I DO NOT HATE BRITTISH PEOPLE!

There, I know the rumor or whatever got started when I made that comment about that flamer. I sincerely did think that he/she might have spelled it the British way! I know that people in England spell some words differently! I don't hate the British! I want to move to England when I'm old enough; my own sister is legally a British citizen! There, out of my system, I'm sorry if I offended anyone but that was miles and miles away from my intent.

ravel queen: Why thank you dearly! I do adore hearing things like that.

Itsasledgehammer: yeah, don't you just want to take them home with you?

Curalium Lacrimo: Why thank you. And Dumbledore making sexual innuendo… Creeeeepy.

Ps: **puppy dog eyes** Sorry! Not what I meant! **Pout**

HevenSentHellBroken: Why thank you kindly, love.

Archanis: **giggles** why thank you!

maleficus-lupus: Aha! I love your blinking face! And yes, it is indeed an innuendo that had to do with what something Harry said earlier. About how Sirius shouldn't worry because he doesn't plan on acting on his crush on Remus, like by seducing him by eating a banana suggestively and getting him flustered.

sweetangel99: oh trust me…. He will get over it. And don't worry; you're not a dork. I love updates too, and it also brightens my day to see reviews! . . . Well maybe we're just both dorks…

Xurtan: Sex games? Oh dear, what did you have in mind? Like… role-playing? "Mr. Potter! Detention, I'll teach you to speak out in class. I'll teach you a better use of that loud mouth of yours." "Yes professor Lupin." Oh dear, sorry, that was kind of wrong but I couldn't resist.

sami1010220: It's not that he doesn't approve, he's just a bit…. Confused. The last time he saw Harry he was a baby, and now he fancies Sirius' best friend for years. He just needs to get used to the idea.

HecateDeMort: My sister is moved there for school and we went to help her get settled.

Flamegirl22: Thanks, and I love your story! I haven't been able to post comments because my sn is being weird, but I'm gonna try again after I finish this chapter.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Get over it.

&HP&

Severus Snape scowled to himself as he walked through the crowded halls of Hogwarts. He hated these halls; they were so polluted with children. He couldn't stand moving through the sea of chattering, midget like creatures. He finally got to where he was headed and tore himself out of the human river's flow. Growling to himself, Severus straightened out his robes and opened the door to the staff meeting room. He grudgingly sat in a chair between Poppy and Minerva; they waited for Dumbledore to get there. A mere three minutes later said man walked into the room smiling apologetically.

" Hello everyone. I'm terribly sorry for my tardiness. I'd like to thank everyone for coming here and I trust our non-staff members got their summons without any problems?" He asked in his usual calm voice. Severus blinked at the last comment ant looked around in surprise when he noticed that several key Order members were present. Dumbledore began to speak again. "I have truly wondrous news." He began with a smile and his traditional twinkle. He paused for dramatic values, Severus internally snorted, not very many people realized that Albus Dumbledore was such a drama queen. "My news has to do with Harry Potter." Mummers broke out around the room and everyone looked curious, except for Lupin and Black. These bastards looked like they knew something. Severus would have glowered at them but he was honestly curious as well. It was no secret that Severus hated James Potter and planned to hate his son when he came to school. The boy's death hit hard though, Severus had been shocked that his relatives had abandoned him and his orphanage had ignored him. It would seem that the poor innocent boy had lived a hard, cold, lovely life all the way up to his untimely death.

"How could anything having to do with that poor, poor boy be wondrous? He lived a lonely life until he was killed, I don't see anyway something wondrous could come from that sort of existence." Arthur Weasley said with a sad and slightly angry look on his face. Much to everyone's surprise Dumbledore's smile simply widened.

"Perhaps it came from the fact that only the early years of young Harry's life was lonely." He paused again and scanned the room with all knowing eyes, "and that he did not die." The room was silent for several moments before Minerva broke the silence.

"What are you talking about Albus? Are you saying that Harry Potter is… Alive?" She whispered, almost as if it would make it not true if she spoke to loudly.

"Yes Minerva. Harry James Potter is alive and well." This time no one was silent except for Lupin, Black, Dumbledore, and Severus himself (for Severus Snape must never loose his cool.) Everyone began to speak at once and they were silenced with a stern had that was held into the air by Dumbledore. "Please, everyone, remain calm. I'm sure you're all wondering how this is possible. I will answer that for you if you all remain silent." Everyone did just that and the room was silent enough to hear a pin drop. "Several weeks ago a seventh year Gryffindor named Hermionie Granger was sitting at a secluded part of the lake with her friend Ginny Weasley, Arthur's daughter. She left into the castle with her friend and realized that she had forgotten her bag and went back.

When she got there she was shocked to see an attractive boy with pale skin, waist length black and red hair, and Elvin clothing standing near her bag flipping through her history of magic book. She approached him and they both began to talk. She discovered that the boy she was talking to was a wizard whom had been raised by elves that lived in the forbidden forest. They traded information about their cultures, as it would seem that the boy was as interested in wizarding society as we are in Elvin society. They got along well and decided to meet again in one week. This went on for about three or four weeks, the boy's friend joined them on the second week. His friend was full elf and a girl the same age as them. The third week Hermionie was un-knowingly followed by our own professor Black. However, when he saw the boy he recognized him. This boy, as you may have guessed, was none other that Harry Potter." That's when the voices broke out again.

"Albus! Are you sure?" Tonks asked with a dead serious face that seemed to clash with her lime green curls.

"Positive, I seen him myself. His hair, dispite how long it is, has that same unruly look that James' had. His eyes are unmistakably Lily's and he has the scar. He's staying in a room that is joined with Remus and Sirius'." Snape nodded to himself, so that's why they looked so unfazed. "Harry told us that he knew about his past and title, but he had no idea that we thought he was dead. He found it out in Ms. Grangers history book that faithful day. He's agreed to let the public know he's alive but he doesn't want to leave his old life behind. He has a family and friends back in the forest and he wants to regularly visit them. The reason I told you is because Harry gave me permission but I must stress that you must tell no one. He isn't ready for the publicity that would come with his secret getting out and wants to take his exposure in small steps." Everyone nodded immediately. The rest of the meeting was spent explaining how he ended up with his new family as well as other school and order matters. Severus barley listened though, as he doubted anyone was. There was only one thing on everyone's mind, Harry Potter, the boy-who-didn't-lived, their savior, was alive.

&HP&

I'm sorry, this wasn't very good, or long. As you can tell it was really just a filler chapter. I promise there will be more Harry, Hermionie, Remus, and Sirius next chapter.


	13. The long long delayed shopping trip!

Aha! My dears! I am back! Back with a vengance! And omfg. I am soooo sorry that I haven't updated in... ever. I promise you with all my heart that I will NOT drop this story, even if I want to I intend to finish it. I'll try to update quicker and I'll try to take on less creative projects at once, (writing a novel, making movies, painting, and of course school.) They're overpowering my fic writing time majorly.

Salazar Slytherin's Heir: Awww. thanks. my story loves you too.

Jensindenial3516: I now rock? Aw. I do believe I always rocked but oh well. better late than never. And isn't rl/hp just adoreable?

Danielle: . . . wtf PIM? Wtf? whatever. thank you. and don't whip me anymore, Im working on it! okee?

Talons: Heh, well I'll be honest. I love Snape eh, ignores 6th book and I'm planning on making him somewhat friendly to him. they wont be best buds or anything, but on good terms. Also, Sev will mostlikely act sort of awkward around him, like he doesn't know HOW to act.

Flamegirl22: Loved "finding comfort" ignore the bastard who flamed you. If you get flames find a way to laugh at them and roast marshmellows over their idiodic and juvinile heat. Everyone love s'mores!

blah: poppers are fun. and bad jokes are better. sometimes... I wish Americans had better traditions. we're so boring.

Eowyn23: GASP! slaps self sorry. I swear I knew that. See, I miss-spelled it one time and the spell check entered it as the correct spelling and changes it automaticaly. I'm working on de-stupifying it.

Serena R. Snape: thank you! and for the snape and harry thing. look to my responce to "talons" (four comments up)

ravel queen: indeed. a necessity. but anyhoo. I wont give away the ending to where Harry is going to live wink. And yes. this chapter. there will be almost completely Harry and Remus. and SLASHY-NESS AHOY! Boy crushes are just too fun to write.

queenofdakittys: OH I'm sorry to worry you as I no doubt worried you about THIS chapter. But I swear, I don't plan on abandoning this. I only abandon fics if only like... one person ever reviews. I HATE it when people abandon fics so I'll steer clear of it. And lastly. this is AU. I love Sev. He is not evil in this fic. no voldie puppets of doom for him.

sweetangel99 : You again! hah. Don't worry. I love your reviews, I love long reviews and yours are always long. keep em coming. ramble away. now to respond. Yes. England rocks, and Planes doom and dispair. Camden town the fucking best. And My life non-existant. sorry. However, my brain writers block of agony.

sami1010220: heh. that's right. Sara Connor, distracting kids form school work one chapter at a time... (yes, my name is Sara _Connor_. And yes... I have heard terminator jokes so much I could hurl.)

MAJOR THANKS TO MY LOVELY BETA SOLITARY POISON!

Disclaimer: Sara has no money,

Sara has no job,

But she is still funny,

and yet she's a slob.

So hears the deal.

Sara don't own shit,

her owning HP? puh-leeze Get real!

Just read and deal with it.

&HP&

Harry sighed and flopped in an almost graceful manner into an armchair by the fire. He brought his knees up to his chest and stared at the fire dully and he was so caught up in his staring contest with an inanimate object that he didn't notice Remus enter the room. If he had then he would have seen Remus freeze and admire him for a brief moment before catching himself, therefore stopping the whole "but he could never like me" thing our boys are experiencing. That would completely ruin our story though, so Harry conveniently didn't look up. Remus walked quietly into the room with a concerned look crossing his face as he noticed how forlorn Harry looked.

"Hello Remus." Harry said calmly without looking up, causing Remus to jump. He would never get used to Harry being able to sense his presence so easily. Remus shook the thought from his head and continued forward.

"Hello Harry, why so blue? You look like you just had your heart broken." Remus replied with a calm smile as he sat in the armchair just next to Harry. Harry smiled a bit without looking from the fire.

"No. It's more of a gradual heart ache." He responded jokingly with a small sigh. The joking bit was lost on Remus and he began to internally panic.

"I see." Remus started slowly. 'He likes someone? And they don't like him back? Are they mental? Who could he like? The only people he's met so far are Dumbledore (ew no.), Snape when he delivered my wolfs bane a week ago (Harry only saw him for two minutes so no), Hermione (I severely doubt that.) And me and Sirius... no... Bloody hell!' "Who is it then?" He asked boldly once he found his voice again. Remus watched Harry frown and blink a few times. Seconds later he was faced with those brilliant green eyes.

"Who's what?" Harry inquired with a tilt of his head that hade him far more adorable than should have been legal.

"Well the person who has got you in heart ache, naturally." Remus answered. The response he got was not what he expected, Harry stared at him for a moment before breaking into laughter.

"What? No! That's not what I meant! I wasn't referring to a _person_ causing me heart ache!" The younger boy got out through laughs.

"So... Wait, you're not pinning after someone?" Remus asked with surprise on his face.

"No!" 'Except you that is, but I'll refrain from telling you that little tidbit.' Harry thought to himself, he didn't see the relief flood Remus' golden eyes.

"So what's wrong?" Remus asked calmly, trying to not let it show that he was internally doing the happy dance of relief. Harry's face got more serious and he looked back to the fire.

"It's been two weeks Remus. Two weeks since I moved in here and I haven't been outside once! I'm about to die! Two weeks inside is enough to depress anyone, and I was raised as an elf! Elves pretty much live outside, it's killing me to stay in here." Harry got a look of such sadness across his face that Remus only just caught himself from reaching out to hold the beautiful boy before him. He thought over all this in his head and tried to think of something to do for Harry, his thoughts were cut off by a voice from the doorway.

"Then you should go out, my boy!" The two people in the room looked up to see that the owner of the voice was none other that Albus Dumbledore, with Sirius stood next to him. "I believe Sirius told me something about you needing to buy your own clothes so you could go on a shopping trip in London. You could get some lunch and just get some fresh air. You can go into the woods to see your family tomorrow if you'd like. You would have to go tomorrow when all the students will be inside so they cannot see you. Today would be to busy, it being Sunday and all." The headmaster added with a kindly smile causing Harry to smile brightly.

"You mean it? I've always wanted to see a muggle human city too! Alice would be so jealous! And would it be ok if I stay a while with my family too? I've really missed them, and that way I can come back on a school day as well." Harry replied with excited eyes, Albus smiled and nodded.

"Just one more thing though, someone would have to accompany you on your trip to London of course. I would ask Sirius to go as well but he has promised to help me with something today." Sirius looked to Albus at these words with what looked to be surprise. Albus looked back at the black haired marauder and Remus could've sworn he saw Albus wink before Sirius nodded.

"Yeah, I promised, sorry Harry." Harry looked somewhat crest fallen at Sirius' words. "Hey! I know! Remus, you could take him right?" Remus blinked in surprise and looked at Harry, he found Harry looking at him with eagerness and pleading in his eyes.

'Like I could say no to that face. Or the prospect of spending a day with Harry no less.' Remus smiled kindly and nodded. "I would love to Harry." His heart gave a flutter at the happy smile that broke Harry's pale face. The fluttering of his heart changed to a surprised and flustered pounding when he suddenly had an armful of Harry in his lap. His cheeks turned a bright red, his breath caught in his chest and his arms automatically found their way around the lithe body against him.

"Thank you so much Loup!" Harry breathed out happily into the werewolf's ear(1). 'Wait! Holy hell! I'm hugging him! He's hugging me back! Bloody hell he's warm... Bugger! I'm in his lap!' Harry pulled back quickly and moved back to his own chair with an attractive blush on his cheeks and his eyes on the floor. "Sorry."

"Heh, no worries. I'll just get my cloak and such and we can go." Remus said with a somewhat embarrassed smile as he stood. Harry smiled back and nodded to him as he turned to go back to his room to fetch his things. Harry stood a bit after him and walked to his own room, he turned to the two men in the doorway.

"Thank you so much Headmaster!" He said with a smile before turning to get his stuff.

"Of course my boy." The headmaster responded to Harry's back. Since Harry's back _was_ to the headmaster and his godfather he didn't see the conspirators look they shared. Once Harry had left Sirius smirked at his former Headmaster and raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you had been in Gryffindor. That was a very Slytherin move." He murmured jokingly with mirth in his blue eyes. The Headmaster raised his own eyebrows and gave a look of surprise and confusion.

"I have no idea what you're talking about dear boy." The elderly man replied as he turned to leave though his claim was betrayed by the infamous twinkle in his eyes. Sirius merely chuckled as he left and shook his head. He hoped Albus' plan would work. How that man knew about those two he had no idea, he himself had only figured out his close friends feelings two days ago.

&hp&

/Flashback.../

_Sirius had seen the blushes, the prolonged stares, and the longing glances. He had seen all of them and he was only beginning to put it all together. The only reason he saw all of this in the first place was because of how close to Remus he was. Remus was actually a very sneaky person and someone not very close to him would have missed all of the hints, Sirius didn't though. It took him a bit, but Sirius figured it out. He looked up and saw Remus walk casually into the room, flash him a smile, pick up a book and sit down to read it. Sirius returned the smile and waited the appropriate amount of time before speaking._

_"So..." Sirius began without looking up, he saw Remus look away from his book out of the corner of his eye. "How long you been lusting after my godson?" He inquired conversationally. He heard Remus' book slide form his hands onto the ground and a rather odd noise escaped his throat._

_"What?" Remus squeaked out with wide eyes. Sirius bit back a smirk and looked at his long time friend with a raised eyebrow. " I'm not lusting after Harry! I mean how ridiculous is that? He's your godson! I mean sure he's gorgeous and sweet... and funny... and smart..." Sirius bit back a snicker at the slightly forlorn glazed look in his friend's eyes. Remus blinked and blushed before bending to retrieve his book. "But that is completely irrelevant!"_

_"Me think you doth protest too much." Sirius replied in a sing-songy voice and with a smirk on his face. Remus looked up sharply and frowned._

_"Fine. I... I wouldn't say 'lusting'... It's rather that I... fancy him..." Remus looked over at the wall with embarrassment on his face. "A lot." Sirius' smirk softened and he let out a sigh._

_"You really do? Like him a lot I mean." Remus nodded sadly._

_"Yeah. Sorry Padfoot. You must want to kill me." Sirius sighed and shook his head._

_"Naw... It's... weird... extremely... I'll have to get used to it. Harry's a big boy... I'm gonna have to accept that." Sirius ran a hand tiredly through his hair. "So what do you plan to do with this little infatuation?" Remus blinked and smiled a bit._

_"Thanks siri... and... Nothing. He could never like me like that." Remus replied, looking rather put out at the last bit. Sirius rolled his eyes and stood up to leave."Whatever you say Moony." He muttered loud enough for his friend to hear as he walked into his room._

/end flashback.../

&hp&

Remus stumbled out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron and began brushing soot off his clothes with a sigh, he would never get used to floo travel. There was a flare of the fire behind him and Harry stumbled lightly from the green flames, once again seeming almost graceful about it. Remus sighed at this and gave him a small pouty glare; Harry blinked in surprise and blushed.

"What?" He asked while tilting his head in that way. Remus couldn't resist the cuteness. He stopped glaring and gave a small laugh.

"Nothing, it's just you bloody elves and your grace. I've been traveling by floo for years and I still fly out like a troll with its shoelaces tied." Harry blushed again and laughed with him.

"You think that was graceful? Are you mad? I nearly fell on my arse! I'm the clumsiest one in our village back home!" Harry replied with a smile, Remus rolled his eyes.

"Only you could manage to be gracefully graceless." Remus felt a tiny bit of pride flare in his chest at the laugh and blush he got. He suddenly realized that a lot of people were staring at Harry, in fact most of the pub. He began to internally panic until he noticed that they weren't looking at him like one would look at a previously dead savior. However Remus' inner wolf growled angrily at the looks they were giving him, he had to admit that Harry made quite a picture. Long black hair pulled into a messy ponytail and a light blush high on his cheeks, a bit of soot on his right cheekbone even looked alluring somehow. He wore a black button up shirt that clung nicely to his body and sat untucked from his form fitting low ride jeans that had several rips in all the right places to give tantalizing glimpses of skin. Remus stepped forward and brushed the soot away with his thumb, internally smiling when Harry's blush increased at his touch. "Let's go Romeo." He said with a smirk as he pulled him to the door. He was stopped before he could get there.

"Remus! Darling! How are you?" A short woman with cat glasses and bright, piled on makeup said with a fake smile. Remus nearly gagged as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Skeeter." He replied disdainfully. Rita Skeeter. She had been the reporter sent by the daily prophet to cover the tri-wizarding tournament three years ago. She had quickly gotten on Remus and Sirius' bad sides with her obviously fabricated stories about the competitors. They had nearly throttled her when she wrote a story about them. As the two "heart throb" professors on campus (at least that's how Sirius put it) she had tried to tie BOTH of them romantically to the Hogwarts champion Cedric Diggory. It was ridiculous! Cedric had and has a girlfriend he was extremely happy with and both Remus and Sirius were and are very single, to the enjoyment to the hormonal teenagers in Hogwarts (according to Sirius.) "How can I help you?" Rita smiled cheesily and replied.

"Well, I was just having a drink when you stumbled in with this... stunning... boy, " She said with a head-to-toe scan of Harry's body. "I just had to come over and say hello!" She finished as she tore her eyes away from their hungry inspection of the now very uncomfortable Harry. "Is he one of your students Remus?" She asked with a flutter of the eyelashes. Remus caught sight of her quick quotes quill hovering nearby, waiting for him to say something for it to twist around. He kept his mouth shut and narrowed his eyes. Rita raised an eyebrow and huffed. "Fine. I'll just ask him!" Remus' eyes widened and before he knew it Rita had shoved by him and presented a neon green clawed hand to Harry, who hesitantly shook it. "I'm Rita Skeeter from the Daily Prophet, and you are?"

"Eh... Evan. Evan Jameson." Harry replied, thinking quickly. "I'm not one of his students either... I've gotten... eh... Home schooled." Rita smiled in what she thought to be an alluring way.

"Oh! Well Mr. Jameson, how did you come to meet Remus here? And if he's not your teacher what exactly is the nature of your relationship?" She cooed with a "seductive" smirk and a suggestive wiggle of the eyebrows. Harry blinked and stared for a second before another blush bloomed on his face and his eyes got wide.

"What? No! Remus and I aren't involved! We're just friends!" He was going to go on when Remus grabbed his arm gently but firmly.

"We should go Evan." He cut in with a cold glare at Rita. "_Pleasure_ seeing you Skeeter but we really must get going. Good day." Remus spat out as he steered Harry to the exit, suddenly very glad they had covered Harry's scar with muggle makeup.

"Well alright then Remus dear, good bye. I do hope we meet again Mr. Jameson, I would so love having a chat with you." Rita responded to the departing duo, her voice taking a suggestive tone on the last bit.

"Yes, bye." Harry responded shortly as he stepped through the door.

&hp&

"What was with that woman?" Harry asked with a huff as they walked through the streets of London towards the tube station. Remus sighed and shook his head.

"Bloody reporter. She's mental, makes up stories. Terrible woman. Best to ignore her Harry, I mean Evan. Nice save back there by the way, despite what Sirius says I think you'd make a good Slytherin." Harry blushed and smiled at him.

"Thanks, and where to first?" He asked as they headed down the steps to the train.

"Well, we got your bank card already so..." Remus stopped to think. "How about Oxford Circus?" He suggested with a helpless shrug showing that he wasn't all that experienced in the whole shopping thing. Harry patted his back in a silent gesture to show that he didn't know either.

"Sounds good." He responded as they sat down on the trains blue plastic seats. While in between the second and third stop Harry noticed three girls sitting rather close and whispering things to each other with grins in his direction. They all blushed a bit and broke into giggles when he looked at them. The train suddenly came to a stop and Remus stood up next to him. He looked up at him and stood as well.

"Here's our stop, lets go." Remus said with a smile, Harry followed him to the door and moved to cling to Remus' arm as he gave a small, embarrassed smile at the girls. Their giggles grew tenfold and one girl threw him a wink. He faced forward and noticed Remus looking at him with a raised eyebrow, probably wondering why he was suddenly clinging to his arms.

"Teenage girls are scary." Harry mumbled as a response. Remus looked over his shoulder as the girls who responded with smirks, giggles, and little waves. He raised an eyebrow and gave a smirk of his own.

"I see." He said as he turned back. They climbed the stairs to the street and began to wander down the street looking for a store to go into out of the endless number of them along this particular street. Eventually they wandered into a rather large shop. Both of them looked at the endless racks of clothes helplessly and shared a pitiful look.

"Can I help you?" A voice said from their side. Both of them turned and were faced with a woman in her early twenties, she obviously worked there and wore a smirk. She seemed to find their predicament amusing.

"Yeah." Remus answered with a sheepish thankful smile. "We need a whole new wardrobe for him." He finished with a nod to Harry. The woman smiled and looked at Harry for the first time, as he had been sort of hiding behind the older man. She grinned and nodded excitedly when she took in his appearance. Harry got the impression that she would enjoy giving him things to put on, like a life size doll. She led him over to the dressing rooms and told him to wait a moment. A bit later she came back with a huge collection of clothes, which Harry took. Something told him this would be a bit of a long day.

&hp&

About two hours later Harry and Remus were at the register paying for a large amount of clothes. Two other sales girls and one very flamboyant sales boy had joined Anna (as they had learned was the name of the first sales girl) at some point, everyone had enjoyed playing dress up with him. Most of the outfits had Remus practically drooling; did ANYTHING look bad on that boy? Remus himself had even bought two outfits due to Harry's insistence. Anna had forced him into the dressing room and Harry pleaded with Remus to add the clothes to the pile of things to buy. Remus had finally relented but it fortunately wasn't that bad because he had actually noticed the hungry stares Harry was giving him. Harry handed his bankcard to Anna with a smile. A bankcard was pretty much just like a credit card that took money directly from his vault at Gringots.

"Thanks again Anna. Don't know what we would have done without you." Harry said with a blush and a smile as they walked towards the door with several large bags. Anna smiled back a waved.

"No worries! It was fun! You two are the cutest couple I've ever seen by the way!" She replied back. Harry and Remus froze and blushed deeply, they were about to correct her but she was already out of sight. They looked at each other and chuckled in embarrassment.

"What's with people thinking we're a couple, ey?" Harry joked nervously while Remus shrunk their bags behind the cover of a rather large clothes rack. Remus laughed a bit and nodded. As they walked out Remus took a bit of a gamble and slid his arm around Harry's shoulder.

"Guess we look so good together they just can't resist." He joked with a wiggle of his eyebrows. He mentally held his breath as he waited to see how Harry would react. Harry looked at him quickly with a blush and wide eyes before breaking into laughter. He slid his own arm around Remus' waist and rested his head on his shoulder.

"I guess so." He responded with an eyebrow wiggle of his own. Remus laughed as they headed down the street, oblivious to the occasional person who would look appraisingly at the pair. They had opted to each wear an outfit they had just bought. Remus now wore dark blue jeans and a form fitting, light brown, turtle neak pull over that brought out the gold in his eyes. Harry wore dark jeans as well and a dark green v-neck pull over with a black undershirt, he looked like a seductive little Slytherin and Remus couldn't help but silently thank Anna for her clothing choices.

&hp&

They had decided to get lunch next and had taken the tube to Leicester Square. Harry now sat in a cafe like restaurant white Remus went up to the counter to order. Harry looked out the large front window of the cafe at the busy streets outside; there were so many people and so little animals. The city was nothing like the village back home, Harry had to admit he liked it here though.

"Excuse me." Harry looked up and found a girl with blonde hair, brown eyes, and far too much makeup standing by the table with a smile. "I couldn't help but notice you sitting all alone over here and thought you might like some company." She said with a smile while she twirled her hair in her fingers; she raised an eyebrow at him and let her eyes look him over. Harry blushed for what felt like the thousandth time that day.

"Well, I'm not actually alone. I-" He was cut off when Remus came back. Remus set a cup of tea in front of him.

"Sorry it took so long love." He said with a smile. Harry thought his heart would explode when Remus leaned down and kissed him lightly on the cheek. He stood up straight again and looked at the girl in surprise. "Oh, can I help you?" He inquired as he tilted his head slightly. The girl spluttered and blushed as she looked between them.

"I... No. Sorry." She responded quickly as she turned on her heel and marched off. Remus smiled and sat down at the table with a glass of iced tea. Harry stared at him for a few moments with curiosity written on his face, Remus offered him a sheepish grin.

"You looked like you could use help." He supplied with a smirk. Harry chuckled and shook his head.

"Thanks Remus." He responded as he took a sit of his tea.

&hp&

Remus finished ordering and turned to head back to the table. He was surprised to see a blonde girl standing there; she was obviously trying to flirt with Harry. Remus frowned witheringly at the girls back, the frown changed into a smile as Harry gave her a look that clearly said "what the hell? Go away".

'That's right. Just turn around, he's not interested.' Remus thought to himself. The girl didn't take the hint though. ' That's it.' Remus raised an eyebrow as he walked calmly to the table. He set Harry's tea in front of him. "Sorry it took so long love." He said with a smile as he leaned down ho kiss him lightly on the cheek. He straightened up and looked at the girl as if he had just noticed her. "Oh, can I help you? " He asked as innocently as he could. The girl began to splutter and blush before leaving while muttering an apology. Remus smiled to himself and sat casually at the table. He looked up from his iced tea and saw Harry staring at him like he was crazy. He gave a shrug and smiled. "You looked like you could use help." He said as an answer to the silent question. Harry laughed and shook his head.

"Thanks Remus."

&hp&

They were heading back to the Leaky Cauldron after they finished eating. Harry had had a salad and Remus had had pasta with salmon, they had shared a scoop of vanilla ice cream after and Remus was oddly satisfied to notice the girl from before staring at them jealously the whole time. Once they got to the pub Remus and Harry were glad that Rita Skeeter seemed to have gone. They flooed back into their shared sitting room and dusted themselves off. Harry turned to Remus and gave him a dazzling smile.

"Thank you so much Loup, I had a great time!" He said as he wrapped his arms around the older man in a hug. Remus smiled and hugged him back.

"Any time Harry, I had a great time as well." Harry pulled back and picked up his bags with a smile.

"I should put these away. I'll put your things in your room." Remus nodded and Harry turned and disappeared into his room. Remus watched him go and let out a small sigh. Why did Harry have to be so bloody amazing? Remus headed into his own room silently. Meanwhile Harry silently put his new clothes in his trunk with a sad look on his face. Why did Remus have to be so bloody amazing? Neither of them had noticed Sirius as he had stood in the doorway of their mini-kitchen with a satisfied smirk on his face.

&hp&

There we go! How did you like it? I PROMISE I'll try as hard as I can to get the chapters out with shorter intervals in between them!

Some finishing notes, To those who don't know or didn't figure it out, the tubes are the British equivalent of the subway in New York. Also, Oxford Circus is a tube stop and a street name. It's pretty much completely shops and department stores. And lastly, the little bit where I tell you what Remus and Harry had to eat might have seemed pointless but I had to do that. The cafe is a real place and I had this pasta with salmon... oh. My. God. It was delicious.


	14. I'm not dead?

OK! WHO WANTS TO KILL ME?

Deranged fanfic readers: RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOGGDSLKFMNWOJWKEFN!

Meep. Okay, I know, I know, and I'm soo sorry. I just got such ridiculous writers block, then I just eventually went "eh, whatever." I'm sorry!

Lately though, I've been getting a lot of reviews of people telling me how fabulous the story is and how they really want me to update and… AGH! I caved! I'm just such a damn softie.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

And finally…

I'm sorry.

There! Now onto the story. But sos ya know. I'm (yes that's right) SORRY but I just want you to know that the updates WILL have space between them most likely. I'll try to not let them get THIS long, but I just have a lot in my life right now.

Disclaimer: That's right, a 15-year-old girl from California wrote Harry Potter. I merely fake the accent, use my metamorphagus abilities to change my appearance, and those kids of mine? Yeah, those are just the neighbor kids. I pay them five bucks an hour for public appearances.

&Hp&

Harry smiled to himself as he wandered through the thick gatherings of trees in the forbidden forest. He had been back at the grove for about two days now and he was quite glad to be outside and with his family again. He did have to admit that he missed Hermione, Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore but he was safe with the knowledge that he would get to see them again. He wondered if they were missing him, with a shrug he put the thought aside and thought more about the time he had spent back at the grove so far. Everyone has been happy to see him and had demanded he tell them stories about his stay in the castle and the people he had met. They had asked him if they had been treating him all right and he had assured them that they had all been nothing but kind to him.

Things had gotten interesting one night when Alice "accidentally" let it slip about his not so little crush on Remus. There had been quite a few reactions. Much to his embarrassment, Alice had been right about Artemis, she had been rather pleased that Harry had fallen for a werewolf. Clara and Krishna had both given rather uncharacteristic squeals and began shooting off questions a mile a minute. Harry was beginning to think this would be the reaction of every female he told. Meanwhile, Aeson and Ares had both smirked at him and began answering questions to THEIR list of never ending questions. However, their list was in a more of an overly protective fatherly way rather than a hyperactive teen girl way.

Harry was broken from his musings when his good hearing picked up the sound of a twig snapping to his right. In a flash his dagger was drawn and he was stalking silently towards the sound. He peeked through a bush and saw a human like figure stumble slightly over a tree root and curse under their breath. Harry raised an eyebrow. Okay, it was definitely not an elf, no elf was that clumsy. The figure wasn't large enough to be Hagrid that presented a problem. No human aside from Hagrid was allowed into the forest. Aside from himself that is. The only humans that came this deep into the woods usually meant trouble. With a set faced of determination, Harry sprung from the bushes and had the figure pinned against the tree with a dagger at their throat in one swift move. Harry's set face of determination broke into surprise as he recognized the figure.

"Remus?" He asked incredulously. "Is that you?" Remus blushed and gave a tiny nod, wary of the blade at his throat.

"Y-yes… Nice greeting there, Harry. I must say, I wasn't expecting this." He chuckled nervously and flashed a grin. Harry blushed as well and pulled his dagger away quickly.

"Sorry! I didn't expect it either!" He began with a sheepish smile. Remus cut him off with a small half smile.

"N-no worries, Harry." He said in a fond but tight voice. Harry blinked in confusion. That was when he realized the position they were in. He had put his dagger away, but he still had Remus pinned to a tree. His body was firmly pressed against Remus', all the way from his knees up to their collarbones. He had one hand on Remus' arm, holding it up against the tree by his head. Remus' other hand had reflexively gone to Harry's hip. Harry's face was flushed as Remus' warm breath ghosted over his lips. Harry knew he should pull away before his bodily reactions caught up to his hazy mind and he put them both in a very awkward situation. He was pinned by the intense gaze of those amber eyes through.

&Hp&

Remus' heart was pounding a mile a minute. He was all too aware of every inch of Harry's warm body as it continued to press tightly against his own. Part of him desperately wanted Harry to pull away before he lost his currently weak self-control and put them both in a very awkward situation. Then again, another part of him wanted nothing more than for Harry to stay just as he was for as long as he bloody pleased. Before either of them could do anything, two figures broke out of the bushes to their left.

&Hp&

Both Harry and Remus' heads snapped over to look at the figures that had just joined them. Both of them watched in surprise as Sirius was led into the clearing with a nervous look on his face and a loaded bow pointed at his back, none other than Ares was holding it.

"Listen to me! I swear I know Harry! I'm his godfather for Merlin's sake!" Sirius exclaimed, his hands raised in their air.

"Sure, whatever you say," Ares replied sarcastically. "Why don't we just find Harry so he can verify this, hmm?"

"Yes, fine!" Sirius sighed out. "I came here to find him anyways." When we find him you'll see that—" Sirius cut off and stopped dead in his tracks, not even flinching when Ares' arrow poked him lightly in the back. He had just spotted Remus and Harry. His eyes were wide for a few moments before a look crossed his face, like he was torn between amusement and irritation. "Well, well," he began. "Looks like we found him. Are we interrupting anything, Harry?" Ares peered over Sirius' shoulder and his blue eyes bugged out in shock.

"Let him go, Ares," Harry said calmly. "He wasn't lying, he's my godfather." Harry gave a blushing glare to Sirius and a sheepish smile to Ares. The smile faded when Ares' bug-eyes stare turned into a small glare.

"And this is?" His face changed once more, into a smirk. "Ah, I assume this is that Mr. Lupin you told me about. Harry spluttered in embarrassment and pulled away quickly. Him and Remus both gave mental sighs of disappointment and relief at this.

"Yes, it is," Harry muttered. "Remus, Sirius, this is Ares, he's the lord of the woods. He's also a good friend of mine, and Alice's father." Harry continued to mutter and tried not to meet anyone's eyes. Remus and Sirius stepped forward and shook Ares' hand.

"Well, I'm sorry about the arrow thing, Mr. Black." Ares said. "But, as Harry said, I'm lord of these woods and are therefore obligated to protect them." Sirius waved a hand dismissively.

"Eh, no worries. Oh, and call me Sirius, by the way." Ares nodded and moved to shake Remus' hand.

"And you Mr. Lupin. It's nice to meet you as well, even if it was in a more than compromising position with dear Harry." He said with a slight tinge of something in his voice that seemed to promise pain and death if he tried anything funny. Remus seemed to get the message and swallowed thickly.

"Oh, about that. I simply startled Harry and he… Well…" Remus laughed a bit. "Lets just say, you missed the part just moments earlier when he also had a knife at my throat. Harry rolled his eyes when Ares gave a satisfied smirk at this.

'Bloody overly protective parental figures.' Harry thought to himself before rushing forward and hugging Sirius tightly. Sirius returned the hug and ruffled his hair. "So, not that this isn't unwelcome, what are you two doing here?" He asked with a grin. The grin faltered when he saw Sirius and Remus share a nervous and worried look.

"Well… It saddens me to say it, but we're here with pretty bad news." Remus told them slowly; still exchanging loaded looks with Sirius. Harry's grin went away completely and he looked between them worriedly. Before he could ask what had happened, Ares had spoken up.

"Why don't we head back to the grove," he said calmly. "We would be more comfortable." They all agreed silently and Remus and Sirius followed after their companions.

&Hp&

Harry looked back at Remus and Sirius to check on them and couldn't help but chuckle. Both men had slowed down considerably when they entered the grove and were now inching along, their mouths open and their eyes sparkling. Harry knew that that must've been almost exactly what he looked like when he first came here, so he held back full out laughter. The grove WAS an amazingly beautiful place. With the traditional elfin architecture surrounding them in pure white marble and woodwork. Lovely, high arch windows and ornate stairways spiraling up ageless trees like ivory snakes. Crystal clear fountains with a green forest backdrop. The floor was still the natural forest floor, except cleaner and easier to walk over. Then there was the abundance of gorgeous people wandering around casually.

Speaking of which, they were attracting a lot of attention. The elves seemed just as shocked about Sirius and Remus as they were about them. Elves of all ages peeked out of windows and over the railing of balconies; many were even pausing as they walked through the street to watch them as they passed.

Despite Remus and Sirius' snail like paces, they reached Ares' home quickly. They led Sirius and Remus up the ivory spiral stairs and into the house. Once there they found Aeson, Clara, Krishna, Artemis and Alice sitting in the living room chatting calmly, Alice looked somewhat bored. Upon their entrance, all conversation stopped and they all turned to look at the newcomers with Ares and Harry. Alice jumped up immediately.

Shadow! Loup!" She rushed forward and grabbed them both in a hug. They both seemed rather startled, but hugged her back. "It's been yonks! I'm so glad you're here! I mean, FINALLY! Some interesting people!" This earned a laugh from Sirius and Remus and a small glare from Krishna. Once she pulled away, the introductions took place.

Harry introduced everyone, but he didn't really hear his own words. He didn't notice how Clara and Krishna both giggled slightly and exchanged a look upon greeting Remus. He didn't notice how Artemis circled Remus once and eventually gave a nod that seemed to say "I approve, but I'll kill him myself if he hurts Harry." He just couldn't be bothered by it. His mind was on whatever it was that Remus and Sirius had to tell him. They had looked so nervous and worried, whatever it was it couldn't be that bad.

"What did you have to tell me?" Harry finally said as they all sat down. Remus and Sirius shared that look again. They both opened their mouths to speak, but ended up closing them again before saying anything. After a bit, Sirius seemed to decide something. He reached into his cloak and pulled something out. With an apologetic sigh, he handed it to Harry. He took it warily and broke eye contact with Sirius after a moment to look at it. When he did, his eyes widened, and he could feel his heart begin to Hammer in his chest.

"I'm sorry, Harry." Sirius muttered quietly. Harry didn't seem to hear him. He just kept staring at the paper in his hands with wide green eyes.

"No…" He whispered.

&Hp&

THE DAY BEFORE….

Hermione Granger walked happily out of the library and down the hall. Things were going great! One of her now best friends had began living in the castle, her grades were up, and Ron was starting to talk to her more. Oh yes, things were good. At least that's what she thought, and it was in that instant of happy thoughts that she was pulled into an abandoned class room by two sets of hands, one of which put tightly over her mouth.

&Hp&

Ok, so what do you think? I--… NO! Don't worry; I'm not that mean. I abandon you for how long and then cut it off there? Don't think so. I am tempted… But ON WITH THE STORY!

&Hp&

Hermione tried to scream, she tried to fight the hands as one left her to close and lock the door. She cursed at her attackers in a muffled voice. The muffled voice turned into full out screaming when the hands left her completely. She stopped screaming at pulled out her wand, turning angrily to her captors. Once she saw them, she froze on the spot.

"Ron?" She squawked. "Ginny? What in Merlin's name is going on here?" She demanded sharply. Ron and Ginny shared a nervous look before setting their faces into calm determination.

"I'm sorry, 'Mione. But me and Ron are worried about you!" Ginny said with a sigh. Hermione spluttered in confusion, but she was cut off by Ron's hand.

"No, listen, Hermione." He told her calmly, this silenced her completely. " Lately, you've been acting odd. You've been sneaking off and you seem… You're keeping something big from us. I can understand not telling me, because we haven't really hung out too much in the past, but I can't see why you haven't told Ginny." Hermione stayed silent so Ron continued. A while back, Gin saw you leaving pretty early. She… She followed you, because she was worried sick, mind you. Well, she said she saw you sneaking into Professor Black and Lupin's rooms." Hermione stared at them wide eyed, she wasn't mad. She understood why Ginny had done it, but she was worried they had seen Harry.

"Hermione, please be totally honest with us, we wont judge you." Ginny paused and bit her lip before finding her resolve. "Have you been sneaking off because… Are you in some sort of… Relationship with either of them?" There was a drawn silence before Hermione burst into hysterical laughter. Ron and Ginny looked at each other, startled.

"Merlin no! That's what you thought?" Hermione broke off to laugh some more. "Professor Black isn't my type! Ooh, and if I was in a relationship with Professor Lupin? Bloody hell! Harry would kill me!" He choked out through laughter. She realized what she had said just a bit too late. Ron and Ginny looked startled again.

"Who's Harry?" Ginny asked. Hermione stopped laughing and stood up straight.

"Nothing," she said, "no one." Ron and Ginny didn't look pleased.

"Hermione, you have to tell us! Don't keep keeping so many secrets!" Ron sighed out worriedly. Hermione had to admit, she was flattered that Ron was so concerned, but she couldn't tell them. Finally, after a long moment of silence, Ginny spoke with an almost regretful look on her face.

"I hate to do this… But, if you don't tell us what you've been hiding from us…" She sighed again and bit her lip. Her eyes dropped to the floor. "I'll say your OTHER secret, the one you actually told me, out loud, right now. " Hermione's eyes bugged out. Surely Ginny was joking. She would never tell Ron about… Well about Hermione's crush. Would she? She watched Ginny some more. Yes, she would. She was just that worried about her. Hermione sighed and dropped into a nearby seat.

"Fine," she muttered defectively. "But you have to promise that you wont tell another living of non-living soul about this." Ron and Ginny sat down as well.

"We wont, unless we deem it completely necessary to tell the Headmaster." Ron said, "I'm sorry, but we have to." Hermione just laughed a bit and nodded.

"No worries," she said. "He already knows anyways." They looked surprised. "All the teachers know." Hermione gave another great sigh and ran a hand over her face. She really hoped that Harry understood. She looked at them sadly and began to tell them everything.

&Hp&

Hermione was silent after she finished her story. Ron and Ginny were silent as well. They both had looks of utter shock on their faces.

"Are…" Ron choked out. "You can't be serious." Hermione sighed.

"Would I make this up?" She asked tiredly. "Besides, I told you, and if you don't want to believe me then hey, not my problem." They both nodded and continued to be silent.

"What…" Ginny began awkwardly. "What is he like?" Hermione smiled.

"He's great, really nice and smart. He's very humble and funny as well." Ron looked up sharply.

"You don't fancy him do you?" Hermione laughed again.

"Merlin no!" She chuckled out, missing the relieved look on Ron's face. "I mean, don't get me wrong. He's fantastic, and gorgeous, but I just don't think of him like that." She told them with a smile. 'Besides, I'm pretty sure he's gay.' She thought to herself. Ron and Ginny nodded and their faces broke into smiles.

"Bloody hell," Ginny chuckled out. "This WAS a big secret you were keeping!" Hermione nodded and laughed as well. "Where is he now? When can we meet him? Wait, CAN we meet him?" Hermione nodded.

"He's in the woods, visiting his family. I'm sure you can meet him when he gets back." She then got a very serious look on her face. "You guys, this is important," she began. "You still can't tell a soul, alright?" They both nodded quickly.

"Of course!" Ron told her seriously. Hermione smiled and nodded.

"Good, now why don't we go to lunch?" Just at that moment, Ron's stomach gave a large growl. Ginny started laughing.

"Sounds good." She stood up and the others followed suit. As they left, none of them noticed the beetle sitting innocently on the windowsill.

&Hp&

BACK IN THE PRESENT…

Harry stared at the newspaper in his hands in shock. After a moment he let his hands fall to his lap and the paper to slide to the floor. Alice leaned over and picked it up, Harry ignored her and kept staring at nothing. Alice straightened the ruffled paper and looked at it along with everyone else in the room, aside from Remus, Sirius, and Harry. They all gave shocked and outraged looks at the headline blaring on the front page.

**" Boy-Who-Lived: Alive?"**

&Hp&

All right, now it's really done. Hope you enjoyed it! I promise to try and update soon!


	15. Egads! You're all going to love me!

Augh……….

Blah………….

I know. I'm evil, I'm sadistic, and hell yeah, I'm lazy. However, good news my little boys and girls! Since I have been such a bitch in making you all wait, I have a little present in this chapter, in fact, a bit of a big present. Evil giggle

Disclaimer: I feel bad. I've actually gotten quite a few comments on people enjoying my disclaimers. THERE'S SO MANY EXPECTATIONS OF THIS PART NOW! OHHHHH FOR CATHULU'S SAKE! WHAT WILL I DO? I HAVE TO MAKE YOU LAUGH!11!One!1! Oh, wait, right….. I don't own anything… And uhm…. IN THE THIRD MOVIE THE LUPIN!WOLF LOOKS LIKE A PARTIALLY SHAVED AND REALLY STREATCHED OUT CHIHUAHUA! ….Right.

&Hp&

Harry had continued to stare into space for quite a while before Sirius' soothing hand on his shoulder had brought him back. He had taken a shaky breath and asked how all of this had happened. Sirius and Remus had shared a worried look and honestly confessed that they had no idea. Sirius had then tried to lighten the mood by telling them all that when Remus had seen the article during breakfast he had choked briefly on his water and then proceeded to spit it out onto Professor McGonagall's lap. This had gotten some laughs, though Harry's were somewhat strained and the others (aside from Alice) were terribly confused, having no clue who McGonagall was. Harry had tried asking some more questions, but he had sadly found out that Sirius and Remus didn't know much.

They informed him that the school was in a frenzy. Most of the students were thrilled, and a few wizard raised girls who had grown up hearing about Harry Potter and his tragic tale had started crying, much to Alice's amusement and Harry's embarrassment. Harry had also discovered that Rita Skeeter was luckily not as sneaky as she gave herself credit for, because she didn't seem to have made the connection between the great Harry Potter and the shy, pretty, boy she had met in the Leaky Cauldron.

They had talked until it got dark. They eventually decided that Harry would head back to the castle the next day to speak with Dumbledore and to try and get some answers. Clara, Aeson, and Artemis had graciously opened their home to Remus and Sirius for the night, they had graciously accepted.

Harry was now lying on his bed starring at the ceiling. He just couldn't figure out how this had happened. Had one of the teachers told? No, the headmaster trusted them enough and so Harry had faith in them. Then did Hermione tell? No, she couldn't have… She was his friend… Not to mention that she had known for longer than anyone had, she didn't tell then, so why now? His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at his door. He sat up so he was leaning on his elbows.

"Come in," he called to the person. The door swung open and Remus came in with a sweet smile on his face. Harry immediately felt better; a smile of his own stretched his lips. "Remus, what can I do for you?" He asked kindly.

&Hp&

'There are a lot of things you can do for me…' Remus thought to himself. With a mental scolding he smiled and walked into the room. "I was just wondering how you're holding up." He replied with a grin, trying to ignore how good Harry looked; practically laying on his bed with his hair fanned out behind him and his long legs sprawled lazily on the mattress. The image was luckily taken away from his dirty eyes when Harry sat up fully to sit Indian style.

"I suppose I'm doing alright," he started out with a small frown on his face, his eyes trained on the sheets. "It's really just surprising. Also, I can't help but wonder who gave me away. Anyroad, I suppose that if I was going to tell everyone in the end it's really not that bad. And besides… I have my family here to help me. Dumbledore, Hermione, Sirius…" The younger boy raised his head and gave Remus a heartbreakingly beautiful smile. "And you." Remus was taken aback by that smile for a moment, so taken aback that he almost missed the hopeful and somewhat nervous question that lingered in Harry's voice at his final words. Luckily for us, the key word is "almost".

"Harry," Remus began, a slightly sad and questioning look crossing his face. He broke off there and hesitated for a moment before he moved forward and sat on the large bed next to the younger wizard. "Of course I'll be there for you. I promise that no matter what, I'll be there for you. Bloody hell, I didn't get to be there most of your life so sod it all if I'm not going to be there so much that you'll be sick of me now that I have the chance to." Remus took a shaky breath at the end of his little speech and watched as Harry's eyes misted over slightly and a sweet, small smile spread on his face.

"Thank you, Loup." Harry breathed out happily. And then, before Remus had a chance to register what was happening, Harry launched himself at the man. He threw his arms around Remus' neck and buried his face in the werewolf's shoulder. Remus froze for a moment before closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around the smaller boy. He pulled Harry's lighter form closer, not even registering that the boy was practically in his lap now.

They stayed like that for a while before Harry pulled back with still slightly watery eyes and a grin on his face. Remus smiled back, but both their smiles faded when they realized how close they were. Harry's arms were still tightly wrapped around Remus' shoulder, and he, in turn, still had his arms around Harry. He could feel the warmth of Harry's body as it pressed against his own, and smell strawberries on Harry's breath.

Without even thinking, Remus slid one arm from around Harry's waist and raised his fingers to brush lightly over Harry's soft cheek. Those cheeks turned pink in response and Remus felt Harry's smaller form shiver slightly against him. Remus took that as a good sign, so he slid his hand behind Harry's neck, pleased to find that his hair was just as soft as he thought it would be. Thanks to the stillness of the room and his heightened hearing senses, Remus caught the incredibly faint sound of Harry's heart, beating a mile a minute. Harry didn't once break eye contact, or the silence that had enveloped the room.

Remus studied those wide, green eyes for what seemed like an eternity. He was searching for anything that could tell him what Harry was thinking. Perhaps he was looking for some form of fear, maybe some form of wanting. He would be okay with anything; really, he just wanted something to tell him what he could safely do next. That was when Harry tilted his head just slightly, sighing in contentment. His long lashes lowered, casting dark shadow across his pale cheeks. That was damn well good enough for Remus.

With a mix between a mental cheer and a mental nervous breakdown, Remus leaned forward slowly. The strawberry scent on Harry's breath grew stronger as he got closer, he could almost taste it on his own tongue. He could distantly hear Harry's heart quicken even more, and then Harry's eyes slid shut fully. Remus' own shut lethargically. He could feel Harry trembling just the tiniest bit in his arms, and he was glad to somehow know that it was out of pure anticipation.

Then, there seemed to be a shock of electricity that sent tingling in his veins when he felt those soft lips press just barely against his own. Then it seemed like…. Everything, rushed through his body all at once, like water surging over a broken damn. His thoughts, emotions, disbeliefs, and a physical thrill of something that almost felt like pure adrenalin rushed fuzzily through every muscle, bone, and fiber of his body. However, most of all, he could fell Harry's heart beating quickly, the warmth of his body, the softness of his lips, and the way those long fingers tightened shakily on his shoulders. Remus could've stayed there forever, at least until he woke up. Well, he didn't wake up, however, the door to Harry's room did suddenly swing open.

&Hp&

Harry was in heaven. No, that was too cliché, and there was nothing cliché about this kiss. This kiss was too good to be cliché, too perfect. Yeah, Harry wasn't in heaven, he was somewhere better; he was in Remus Lupin's arms with incredibly soft lips pressed against his own and the sweet smell of chocolate and the forest tickling his nose. He simply had to be dreaming.

'Oh God, Merlin, Zeus, Oden and anyone else who can bloody hear me right now, please let this not be a dream.' He was shocked at himself when he felt wetness build up in his eyelashes. He couldn't help it though. So many emotions were rushing through him; it was overwhelming but utterly addictive. He couldn't have controlled his tears if he tried, so he simply didn't try. He felt those warm lips slide ever so slightly against his own and let out a small whimper. He was about to reprocriate when the door to his room suddenly swung open.

Both of he and Remus pulled away from the kiss quickly. They moved just a bit away form each other and swung their heads to look at the door. They were frozen to the spot when Clara walked in calmly, glancing around the room. Her eyes settled on them and she smiled a bit.

"Dinner is rea-" She suddenly stopped and stared at them with wide eyes, it would seem that she suddenly registered their position. The silence from before was back, but this time is was thick and seemed to be crackling with apprehension, confusion, and surprise. Harry quickly lowered his arms from Remus' shoulders and he felt Remus pull away and stand up quickly.

"I… What…" Clara stuttered out with wide eyes. Remus and Harry risked a glance at the other. When their eyes met Remus studied him for a quick moment. When he had finished his eyes got even wider, his mouth quickly shut, and a thick blush settled on his cheeks. Harry watched as surprise, worry, fear, and finally regret swirled around in Remus' honey-gold eyes. The man quickly turned away and hurried to the door.

"I'll just head down to dinner then." He choked out as he moved past Clara and out of sight. Clara had turned to watch him leave, and when she turned back she still looked speechless. Then, she suddenly gained mental control and cursed angrily in elvish.

"I just interrupted something! Didn't I?" Harry didn't respond. "Damn me!" She cursed before storming out the door. Harry didn't move. He stared at the open door with wide eyes. He could feel his breath shake and choke as he remembered the look on Remus' face right before he fled.

'Oh God, Merlin, Zeus, Oden and anyone else that can bloody hear me right now, please let this be a nightmare.' He thought out, even those words seeming to crack.

&Hp&

Remus continued down the hall quickly. He was such an utter idiot. He had just sat there, kissing Harry like a horny, lovesick schoolboy, just assuming that the other had been enjoying it. Just taking all those little reactions as good things. It had all come together when he had pulled away and looked at the younger boy. Nothing could've prepared him for what he had seen. Harry looked so small on that large bed; he had pink tinting his cheeks and something glossing his eyes. Remus knew it had to have been something close to fear, betrayal, maybe even disgust, when he saw a lone tear that had gathered in those long lashed slide from those wide, innocent eyes and across his pale face.

Remus resisted slamming his fist into the wall. He had taken advantage of Harry! He had taken advantage of poor, sweet, innocent, beautiful Harry. He had just ignored the signs. Oh yeah, Harry's trembling from anticipation, Remus mentally snorted. The way he had whimpered in fear when he had tried to deepen the kiss. Oh, and not to mention his racing heart. Sweet Merlin, the boy would be terrified of him now!

His footsteps stopped suddenly and he leaned heavily against the wall. What had he done? He'd gone and ruined it all, now he couldn't even be a friend. He clenched his eyes shut and ran a hand roughly over his face. He couldn't take that he wouldn't be able to face it! He heard footsteps coming from around the corner behind him and he quickly pushed himself upright and continued quickly to the dining room.

As he entered he was met with the sight of Aeson, Ares, Krishna, Alice and Sirius laughing at something from their seats around the table. Aeson smiled kindly when he spotted him and waved him over to the table. Remus returned the smile weakly and sat in the chair next to Sirius. Oh God, Sirius. Harry would no doubt tell, and Sirius would murder him in an instant.

He raised his eyes and attempted to look like he was listening. Ares cast him a calm smile. That was when Remus remembered the fluid, skilled way Ares had moved with his bow, and the firm and protective look on his face when he had found Remus and Harry in the woods. Remus' eyes quickly lowered and incidentally met those of Artemis from he spot next to the table. She gave him a smile, the best one she could and Remus returned it nervously. Oh Merlin, no offence to Sirius, but when Harry tells people what happened, Padfoot would be the least of his worries.

&Hp&

Sirius whistled to himself as he, Remus, and Harry walked through the woods back to Hogwarts. Things last night had gone well. Harry had taken the news of his exposure better than he thought he would. Not to mention, he had gotten along great with Harry's Family in the grove. They had seemed to like him and Remus. In fact, Krishna had sensed his slight worries about them not getting along. Before they had left, she had taken him aside to assure him that she had known all of these people for, in some cases, longer than Sirius had been alive, and she knew how to read them. She had calmly told him, with a slightly amused smile that all of them quite liked both Sirius and Remus.

So it was with a light mood that Sirius strode along with his companions, his very quiet companions. Sirius finished his whistling song in a bit of a fanfare and cast brief looks at both Remus and Harry. They had been quiet the whole walk so far. In fact, they had both been extremely quiet since dinner last night. They both seemed a bit upset about something and had kept away from each other for the most part. Occasionally one would glance at the other when they weren't looking with an odd emotion on their face. Sirius would guess that they had had a fight, but neither seemed angry.

There was another thing; Clara had been acting oddly as well. She had come down to dinner looking slightly pissed off at, oddly enough, herself. Every once in a while she would look between Harry and Remus before cursing herself under her breath. The next morning she didn't seem angry, just eager. Eager to get Remus and Harry to talk at least. When they had left without her making any progress she had seemed terribly disappointed.

Sirius opened his mouth, about to calmly ask what the hell was going on, when Harry suddenly pulled out the invisibility cloak and threw it over himself. Sirius was confused for a moment before he realized that they had reached the edge of the forest. Sirius gave a quiet sigh and decided to approach the issue later on as they headed across the lawn to the back doors of the school.

&Hp&

Harry sat tensely in the common room shared by Remus, Sirius, and him. As soon as they had arrived, Remus had gone to make some tea, moments later, Sirius had left, saying he was going to talk to Dumbledore. Now Harry was perched stiffly on the edge of an armchair, waiting for Remus to get back, for them to be alone the first time since the kiss.

Harry sucked in a breath when he saw Remus walk through the kitchen door, a tray with steaming tea floating behind him. He stopped dead and looked around the room; obviously surprised that Sirius had left. The tea levitated past him and settled on the coffee table in the middle of the room. For several moments, Remus and Harry simply stared at each other. Finally, Remus looked away and sighed.

"We have to talk," He murmured out cautiously. Harry felt his chest clench for a moment and nodded.

"Yeah," he managed to choke out. He watched numbly as Remus moved to stand in front of the opposing armchair, but didn't sit down. The older man seemed to be struggling with what to say. 'He most likely wants to let me down easily, tell me in a nice way that he's disgusted at the thought of kissing me like he did last night.' He thought sadly, not finding the will to be bitter.

&Hp&

Remus could feel his heart hammering in his chest as he tried to find his voice and words to use it with. Finally his mental voice kicked in and told him to stop being such a prat and talk, next thing he knew, the words were pouring out.

"Harry, I'm so sorry about that I did! I shouldn't have taken advantage of you like that!" He heard Harry make a choked noise and inwardly cringed. "I just misinterpreted you! I guess I wanted you to feel like I did so much that my head made me think you did! I would never hurt you purposely in a million years! I just can't help how I feel! You're just so smart, and sweet, and funny, and beautiful, and sexy—Oh Merlin, not sexy! I mean—I'm sorry! You probably think I'm some old pervert now that-" Whatever he had meant to say next was thrown out of his mind when he was promptly tackled into the armchair behind him.

His arms automatically went around the slim waist of the body in his lap. He felt as if his heart had stopped when a warm pair of lips pressed against his own. He was really thrown for a loop when the owner of those lips took advantage of his surprise by slipping a slick tongue into his mouth. Remus' eyes clenched shut and a moan bubbled out from deep in his throat. He began to respond and tightened his arms around the warm body that was pressed against his.

Suddenly, the person pulled back and Remus opened his eyes to meet those of pure, emerald green. He panted slightly and stared in awe at Harry. The younger boy moved his hands, which had been behind Remus' head, to caress his face.

"You bloody idiot," he murmured out with a fond smile on his face. "Your mind did NOT make anything up! I DO want you! You sodding prat… That kiss last night was utterly brilliant, I had found it ridiculously nice before bloody Clara walked in and you had your little meltdown." Remus just stayed silent, not believing his ears. "Are you going to say something or am I going to have to snog you again until you respond?" Remus' face was split with a dazed grin.

"I think that snogging would just make me less able to talk." He responded. Harry laughed and rested their foreheads together. Remus sighed a bit. "It won't be easy, you know." Harry blinked worriedly. "It's just… Sirius for one." Harry laughed again.

"Sirius knows that I fancy you. He's pretty okay with that…" Harry nuzzled Remus' cheek. "So I'm sure he'll be okay with this, or at least he will eventually." His smile faded a bit and he looked firmly in Remus' eyes. "There is a…. This… Right?" Remus laughed and pressed his lips against Harry's for a quick kiss.

"There bloody well better be." He replied with a grin. Harry grinned widely and swooped down for another kiss.

They stayed like that for a while, in the armchair with Harry in Remus' lap. Their kiss had gradually gotten more heated and neither of them were complaining. However, they were complaining when they were suddenly interrupted by a loud gasp from the door.

Remus growled slightly and Harry pulled away to glare at whoever was in the doorway. Their eyes landed on a very surprised Ron and Ginny along with an equally surprised but also extremely pleased looking Hermione.

"People really need to stop walking in when we're snogging!" Harry growled out tiredly, busying his face in Remus' neck for a moment. Remus felt him sigh before he, obviously reluctantly, stood up. He turned to look at Hermione, giving her a small, playful glare. Then he looked at Ron and Ginny with a warm smile. "Hi, it's nice to finally meet you two." They both nodded, still looking utterly shocked.

"Hello—erm—Harry," Ron replied dazedly. "H-hello, professor Lupin." Remus just smiled goofily at him and waved from his place in the armchair. Hermione giggled giddily and Ginny's pink face suddenly broke with a half grin.

"Wow," She stated calmly, "That was really hot." Hermione giggled harder and Harry turned an interesting shade of red. Meanwhile, Remus just chuckled, still smiling goofily.

"GINNY!" Ron shouted at his little sister, looking affronted. She gave a helpless shrug.

"What? You know very well that almost every girl and gay boy at Hogwarts ogles Professor Lupin when he isn't looking!" Remus chuckled again, muttering thanks. "And… I mean, look at Harry! Even YOU have to admit that he's gorgeous!" Ron's blush deepened and he rolled his eyes. Harry just stuttered something and scratched the back of his head.

"Can we help you all or did you interrupt an extremely enjoyable experience for nothing?" Remus asked casually from the armchair, causing Harry to grin shyly and blush some more. The room's other three occupants sobered immediately.

"Well, about that Harry…" Hermione began slowly. "It's… Well, it's about the article." She finished with a worried look and a sigh.

&Hp&

Okay, you hate me for the cliffhanger but you LOOOVE me for the snogging. Am I right? Hell yeah, I'm right! Grins

REMEMBER! IF I DON'T GET REVIEWS THEN I DON'T WRITE! Wheeeee! So see you next time kiddies!


	16. Dananananananana, BATMAN!

Okay, I know you all hate me. But well…. I have a ridiculous amount of junk and things to do, I have bad writers block, and just… ugh, yeah.

So just so you know, even though I enjoy writing this and I love the feedback I get, but this is pretty much on the bottom of my to-do list when it comes to writing and work and excetera.

I'm not even going to B.S. it anymore, don't expect updates very fast… at all.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I don't own the Lord of the Rings Elvish language, I don't own a cat, or the movie "The Godfather" on DVD. I don't own a lot of things, but I do like to write about pretty boys kissing each other! YAY!

&HP&

Harry's eyebrows shot to his hairline. He tilted his head to the side and heard Remus Stand up behind him. Hermione fidgeted nervously and seemed to want to look anywhere but Harry.

"You do?" Harry asked, "Well, what is it? What do you know about the article? Do you know who told Skeeter the story?" Hermione gave a great sigh and looked sadly up at him.

"Not exactly," she began nervously. "I… I told Ginny and Ron about you. A day before the article was written." Harry tensed up. His eyes widened and he stared at them blankly for several moments. Hermione quickly went on. "I'm so sorry, Harry! I was really nervous when I said it! Ginny and Ron had noticed me acting strange and were trying to get me to tell them what was going on. I didn't want to tell! Then Ginny mentioned telling Ron about… About a certain secret of mine," at this point she gave Harry a meaningful look, "and I was so surprised that it just came out before I could stop myself!" She took a breath after she finished and watched Harry nervously. He and Remus both remained silent.

"I'm sorry about what I did too." Ginny spoke up. "Ron and I were just worried about Hermione. I wouldn't have told Hermione's secret like I said, I was just grasping at straws." Ron cut in, eagerly nodding.

"We should've trusted her," he said, "I'm sorry. However, I can honestly say that I didn't tell anyone!" Harry blinked at him, still seeming shocked into silence. Hermione stopped mangling her bottom lip and spoke up.

"It's the truth!" She insisted nervously. I told them three days ago. So if you think about it, Skeeter had to have one day to write the story and so considering when it came out and all of that, she had to have heard the news the day I told them." Harry remained silent, he was starting to look like he was grasping the whole thing, torn between anger and sadness. Hermione flinched and trudged on. "I told them at the end of the day, almost right before curfew. We went back to the common room after I told and we stayed down there for ages, we had some homework and they were a bit curious about you. So when we all went up to bed, our housemates were most likely all asleep, mine were. So Ron and Ginny wouldn't have had TIME to tell anyone!"

Hermione took a deep breath and began chewing on her lip again. Harry was frowning now, staring at her in what seemed to be irritated disbelief. Remus was perfectly quiet behind him, looking like he was in deep thought.

"So…" Harry began, his voice sounding stiff. "You decide to spill the secret you've been keeping for nearly a month, because you panicked over the risk of your cr-" He cut off at Hermione's wide eyes. He glanced at Ron and exhaled through his teeth. "At the risk of a secret of YOURS being spilled." Hermione nodded, looking ashamed. "However, you figure it out that the two people you blabbed to couldn't of told." Another nod. "So someone must have overheard you." Another nod. "So…. It's still pretty much your fault that it happened." Hermione flinched and looked properly chastised as she nodded again.

"I'm sorry, Harry." She said, "I wasn't thinking." Harry sighed again.

"Of all the times a super genius like you to stop thinking." He muttered under his breath. Hermione blushed a bit and gave a small smile. There was a long pause while Harry stared at her blankly. "I think you should all go." Hermione's face fell.

"Harry-" She began.

"Go, Hermione." Harry ran a hand over his face. "I don't want to be mad at you so I suggest you leave before I loose my temper." He finished in a tense voice. Hermione nodded sadly and walked towards the door with Ron and Ginny. As they went through the door, Ginny turned back, looking nervous.

"I'm sorry about this, really…" She said. "Don't be too hard on Hermione, it was really my fault." She waited for a reply for a moment before turning and walking from the room. Once the door closed Harry let out a long breath and sat heavily on the arm of the chair Remus sat in.

"Bugger." He muttered. A soothing hand ran over his back, he sighed again and leaned into the touch. "I don't want to be mad at her… I don't really think I am… I think I'm just mad in general." There was a small chuckle and Remus tugged on his arm, pulling him of the arm and into his lap. Harry relaxed immediately and smiled. "Well this works for getting rid of anger." Remus chuckled again and pecked him on the cheek.

"Rita Skeeter is a fowl, unbearable, and sneaky woman. I'm not too surprised that she got wind of this." Harry curled into Remus and nodded.

"I figured that from the stories you and Sirius told me from the Tri-Wizarding tornament." They sat in comfortable silence for a bit. "Do you think any of the teachers told?" Remus immediately shook his head.

"All the people on staff are very loyal to Albus, if he asked them not to say anything, they wont." Harry nodded again, nuzzling Remus' neck. Remus smiled and turned his head to catch Harry's lips in a kiss. He could feel Harry smile before he kissed him back. After a moment Remus pulled away and looked seriously at Harry. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" Harry rolled his eyes and kissed Remus again, deeper this time.

"Yes, you berk. I'm positive." Remus smiled widely.

"Good."

&HP&

The fire danced and twisted, as if trying to jump into the air and out of the fireplace. Harry watched is with detachment, lost in his own thoughts. He knew he couldn't stay mad at Hermione; He could barely stay mad at people he didn't like, let alone his friends.

He did feel somewhat betrayed and there was no doubt he was going to let her squirm for a while. Harry leaned back in the armchair he sat in and pulled his legs up to his chest. Remus had left a bit ago because of a pre-arranged meeting with Professor McGonogall, and Harry was already missing his warmth. He was missing quite a few things about Remus. A sly smile and a light blush graced his face. He still couldn't believe he had snogged Remus, it was too good to be true.

Harry was pulled from his musings when the door opened and Bat- or was it Snape? – Opened the door and strode into the room with a steaming goblet in his hand. He walked over and set it on a table by the kitchen before turning to leave. As he did he seemed to spot Harry for the first time and stopped short. A silence streatched on for a bit before Snape cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Harry Potter, I presume?" He asked stiffly. Harry smiled a bit and stood up, extending his hand."

"Yes, and you must be Professor Snape?" Snape nodded tensely and shook the offered hand briefly.

"I apologize for bursting in, I forgot you would most likely be in here. I was merely delivering Lupin's wolfsbane potion." He gestured to the steaming goblet. Harry tried to hide how amusing he found the obviousness of Snape's discomfort. He decided to give Snape something to talk about, so he asked about the one thing he had heard Snape could go on and on about, potions.

"I heard about the wolfsbane potion. I'm incredibly impressed, thought it's not too surprising considering the praise I've heard about your skills." Harry's plan seemed to backfire when Snape's face took on a fowl look.

"I should inform you that flattery and empty praise will not get you anywhere with me." Snape drawled out. "Insufferable suck ups only succeed in irritating me." Harry frowned at the man and crossed his arms.

"Well for your information I'm not sucking up to you. I was only being polite!" Harry rolled his eyes when the man merely sneered in response. "I was only leading up to a question about your potion." Snape raised an eyebrow. "What? Did you think you were the only person to have an interest in potions?"

"Ask your question, Potter, I have better things to do." Harry glared a bit before calming himself down.

"I was wondering what you used to nullify the wolfsbane's poisonous effect on werewolfs." Snape crossed his arms as he replied.

"I used Willow-worm puss." Harry blinked in confusion.

"But isn't there fairy wings in the potion as well? Willow-worm puss and fairy wings are volotile together." Snape was about to reply when Harry went on. "Wait, did you use doxie eggs? I imagine that would stop the bad reaction and it would add to the numbing affect of the potion that lessens the pain of transformation." Snape's lips tightened for a moment and then he got an odd look on his face, as if he was impressed, but extreamly irritated about it.

"Yes." He forced out tensely. "The combination can be dangerous if not done right, but if it is done correctly then it nulls the pain of transformation greatly." Harry nodded, his curious nature overpowering the part of him that found the man before him somewhat irritating. Snape just nodded awkwardly and folded his hands behind his back. "I have classes to attend to, make sure Lupin takes his potion." With that he gave him a short not and turned to walk out the door.

"Nice to meet you, Professor" Harry told him calmly as the door was shutting. Harry watched the closed door for a few moments before laughing. "Well wasn't he a charmer." He muttered to himself, turning to go to his chair.

"Yes, but then again, he always did seem like a sweetheart when we would watch him, right?" A voice piped in from the doorway to his room. He spun around to find Alice standing there, leaning against the doorway.

"Alice, w-" He began.

"I climbed through your window. So, about Bat, on the way here I watched him have a 'friendly' chat with Shadow. Can you believe the sexual tension between those two?" He prattled on, walking into the room and making herself comfortable on the opposing armchair.

"Okay, first of all, you should know that Sirius finds it kind of creepy to think of people spying on him." Alice grinned sheepishly, though she didn't seem apologetic. "And secondly, I personally find it kind of creepy to think about sexual tension between those two." Alice just laughed and leaned forward in her chair.

"Anyroad, speaking of sexual tension, how are you and our darling little wolf doing?" She asked. Harry blushed and a large grin spread on his face.

"Well… We had a bit of an awkard moment earlier, but it's resolved." He replied.

"How did you resolve it? Was it a passionate snog session?" Alice asked, grinning wickedly. Harry blinked and started to laugh.

"Yes, actually." He got out through laughs. Alice stared at him for a bit before what he said seemed to his her and she jumped out of her chair, squealing giddily.

"You're kidding!!" She gushed, Harry laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"Nope, in fact we snogged in this chair." Harry paused, remembering what had cut their… session short. Alice calmed down when she noticed that his face had fallen a bit.

"What's wrong? Do you think that it was JUST a snog session?" Alice asked worriedly. Harry smiled a bit and shook his head.

"No, we figured it out, it's more then that." He replied. Alice grinned and giggled a bit.

"Fantastic! Then what's the problem?" Harry frowned.

"We were interrupted by Hermione, Ginny, and Ron." Alice made a dissapionted noise.

"Too bad, but how did they react?"  
"Not too bad, Ginny seemed quite flustered though." He replied, causing Alice to blush and mutter something along the lines of "highly understandable." Harry ignored her though. "They had some bad news though…" He trailed off, giving a big sigh. Alice became serious and sat back down.

"What did they have to tell you?" She asked. Harry stared at her for a moment before opening his mouth to explain everything."

&hp&

Augh…. There we go.


	17. Hug Sandwich? And Asexual my ass!

Oh Sweet Cathulu! I'm ACTUALLY updating?? It must be the apocalypse!!!!!!

Ehem. Anyways… Have fun with this little chapter!

Disclaimer: I seriously don't own Harry Potter… Oh, and I don't own The Lord of the Rings Elvish Language. And while we're at it, I've never broken my foot or been to Japan…. Though I so long to go…Whimsical look

&HP&

Harry had just finished telling Alice the whole story with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Now the room was in an odd silence. Harry was sitting quite still, waiting for a reaction. Alice was simply still.

"That bloody SUCKS!" She suddenly shouted, standing up sharply.

Harry sighed and watched her pace back-and-forth, ranting and raving her lungs off. Finally, she stopped and flopped into her chair again, looking slightly worn out.

"Don't get so upset," Harry murmured. "It does suck but it's not that bad." Alice shot him a look so he smiled sheepishly and remained quiet.

"Sure, whatever you say." Alice muttered darkly. "Just know that you can go ahead and be a wimp by not getting mad at the girl or her two red-headed human buddies, I'll just retaliate for you." At this point she gained an evil smirk.

"Bloody hell, this won't be good for Hermione, will it?" Harry asked with a slight laugh in his voice. Alice simply smirked wider.

"Oh no, Dear Harry… It won't be good at all…" Then in an instant she brightened up, back to her normal self. "So, about your godfather having the butterflies of arousal in his gut for tall, dark, and snarky…" She began sweetly.

"Good lord, woman! Did you have to put it that way?" Harry spluttered in a slightly shrill tone.

"Yes."

"No. The answer is 'no, you did not!'" Harry told her with a sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Anyroad, the chances of Ba—Professor Snape and Sirius actually having unresolved sexual tension… From what I hear there are better chances of Snape suddenly getting a tan and declaring his open armed support of inter-house unity."

"Well if he does the nasty with Mr. Gryffindor Sirius then the whole house unity thing would be a bit of a given wouldn't it?" Alice asked innocently, grinning sweetly when Harry shot her a dark look.

"I suppose…" He replied dully. "How about this? The chances are better for Snape to suddenly declare his open armed support for inter-house unity by standing in the middle of a busy hallway and shouting 'HOUSE UNITY HUG SANDWICH! SLYTHERIN MEAT!' at which point Sirius and Remus could come up and warmly cuddle him in their arms simultaneously to which he would reply 'I'm warm and toasty like pastrami caressed with wonder bread.'" Harry rambled out quickly, a deadpan look on his face.

The room was silent for a long while as both occupants took what had just been said into their heads. Harry suddenly made a face.

"I've disturbed myself with my own scenario." He muttered weakly, at which point Alice burst into laughter.

"Well it damn well made ME happy!" She choked out giddily.

&HP&

"I don't know how the hell you managed to convince me to do this." Harry whispered viciously to Alice.

"Because we were both bored, wanted to test our sneaking skills, and since the paper has already outed you there is no reason to hide." Alice smoothly replied. Harry just replied with a sigh, blowing some hair from his eyes and knowing she was right.

At that very moment they were wandering the empty halls of Hogwarts while most students were in class. There was the occasional student on their way to the bathroom or nurse, the random teacher strolling by on their break, and even some students with a free period. Harry and Alice would go into stealthy Elvin mode and hide themselves skillfully until the person passed.

"Don't forget the small fact that you have a skill at talking me into doing stupid things." Harry finally replied.

"I do not!" Alice scoffed over her shoulder. Her received response at first was just a roll of green eyes, but then Harry spoke.

"Oh yeah?" He began, "What about the time with those elders and the pudding?" He barely managed to finish the question before Alice was stopped in the middle of the hallway, leaning against a wall and laughing so hard she was almost snorting.

"It (laugh) was (gasp) bloody (snort) EVERYWHERE!" Then she simply dissolved into another fit of laughs, sliding down the wall and gripping her stomach. Harry stood by, watching it all with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yeah, yeah… Laugh it up! YOU weren't the one caught and forced to try and get those stains out." He muttered irritably, though a small smile graced his face. Then quite suddenly his eyes bugged out and he ducked behind a small statue with a quick muttered "shit!"

"W-what's (giggle) wr—" Alice began, then she tensed up and spun around just in time to see a young student, most likely a first year, come wandering around the corner wearing black and blue robes.

For several moments they both stood frozen, staring at each other in utter shock. Then, as the boy shakily opened his mouth to say something, Alice suddenly frowned and beat him to it.

"I'm a figment of your imagination." She announced in a deadpan voice, her face matching her tone. "Go away." The poor boy suddenly looked terribly confused and slightly scared before he turned on his heel and took off in the other direction.

Harry emerged from his hiding spot laughing quietly but with enough force that his eyes were squinted and he was gripping his gut.

"I can't believe that me, the pseudo-elf, managed to be more stealthy than the real one!" He chuckled out, walking past Alice with a wide grin.

"Well you distracted me with humorous memories about angry and startled old men covered in pudding and flour!" Alice shot back grumpily, jogging a bit to catch up. Harry just smiled wider and shot her a wink.

"Whatever you say, doll. Just try and be more careful, right?" He replied. Alice pouted a bit and rolled her eyes, glancing out of their shadowed path that hid them perfectly from anyone who might be in the outside courtyard and in view of the large windows across the hall. She suddenly froze.

"Hey…" She whispered slowly, "Is that Hermione and her lover-boy?" Harry followed her gaze and saw that Hermione and Ron were indeed in the courtyard. They both seemed a bit sullen and Harry felt a bit guilty before he brushed it off; he was supposed to be mad at them.

Hermione seemed to be staying her typical self and was spending her free period doing homework, and by the look on her face it was to get her mind off of the Rita Skeeter issue.

Harry suddenly realized that Alice wasn't next to him anymore. He jumped and looked around quickly, trying to spot her. He finally did, seeing her once again joining his side.

"Where did you go and what did you do?" He whispered desperately, looking at her in disapproval. Alice smiled darkly.

"That will teach her to mess with us." She replied in a low voice.

"Hey, where did my quill go?" Harry suddenly heard Hermione ask from the courtyard.

He raised an eyebrow and Alice sighed, her evil façade dropping and her hand rising to show her fingers gripping a light brown quill.

"There is only so much one can do in the name of revenge when she's trying to not be noticed by anyone." She explained sheepishly.

Then they both jumped as a sudden long, loud, droning sound began to echo through the empty halls. They both looked around desperately and to their horror doors began to open and students began to file out; the period had ended. In a desperate move they turned quickly and ducked into a door behind them.

The room was mercilessly empty and it seemed to be a classroom. A quick scan led them to realizing that it was the Defense Against the Dark Arts room.

"Student's will be coming in soon!" Alice whispered nervously. Harry looked around desperately and noticed a door at the far end of the room. He grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her to the door. It opened quietly and they slid inside the empty room that seemed to be an office.

They crept around for a bit, wondering what to do. Then the door they had come through started to open and in the blink of an eye they were both perfectly hidden.

Harry peered out of his hiding spot and grinned as he recognized that the figure that had come into the room, closing the door behind himself, was none other than Remus. He had his nose buried in a book and that was no doubt to thank for why he hadn't noticed them in the room with his werewolf senses.

Harry's eyes widened as he noticed Alice creep out of her hiding spot and sneak up behind the unsuspecting wolf as he sat at the desk, eyes not straying from his book. She reached to just behind his shoulder and leaned down towards his ear.

"A little birdie told me you stuck your tongue in a pretty, green-eyed boy's mouth." She whispered in a low voice.

Remus jumped up from his chair with a shout and a blush painting his face. He spun around and his wide eyes landed on Alice, who was grinning wildly with mischievous eyes.

"Alice??" Remus gasped, pressing a hand to his chest. "What on earth? How did you get in here? Why are you here?" The blush darkened, "And how did you know I—"

"Calm down there, Loup!" She laughed out, holding her hands up in surrender. "I snuck in here because that's what I do. We got bored so we decided to wander—"

"'We'?" Remus interrupted, looking adorably confused.

"Yes, we." Harry said, coming out of his hiding space. Remus spun around again and a wide, slightly goofy grin reached his face.

"Harry!" He said happily. He would've gone on but he was interrupted by a giggle. They both turned to see Alice gripping her hands together and bouncing up and down slightly with a wide grin on her face.

"You two are so bloody cute!" She gushed excitedly, "Look at yourselves!" It was then that they both turned to look at each other and realized that they both wore rather large, goofy looking grins. They both tried to regain normalcy to their faces but both settled for a blush instead.

"Could you two… kiss?" Alice all but squeaked past her smile stretched lips, leaving both men in the room shocked. They both shared a look and then turned to her with looks that said "what in the hell?"

"Alice you bloody pervert! You want to watch us kiss??" Harry asked incredulously. She just smiled sheepishly.

"Yes!" She replied. Harry looked as if he was about to protest so she beat him to it. "Look here, Potter, I've been trying to get you to do something about this damn crush for nearly four years so excuse me if I want to see some results once you finally get the bullocks to DO something!"  
Remus blinked in surprise and turned to look at Harry with wide eyes. Meanwhile, Harry was glaring daggers at Alice with a red face.

"Four years?" Remus asked in shock. Harry startled and looked at him, blushing deeper and giving a small half-smile in response. Remus' face spread in a smile and he walked over to his blushing "elf". With that smile still on his face he reached out, taking Harry's face in his hands and leaned over a bit to press their lips together.

Harry melted into the kiss and Remus' hands moved from his face to wrap around his waist, pulling him closer. Harry sighed contently and leaned against his body, quite willingly allowing Remus to deepen the kiss.

"Hey, Moony what are you doing in here? Spacing ou- BLOODY HELL!!! GET YOUR TONGUE OUT OF MY GODSON'S MOUTH!!!"

Everyone spun around to see Sirius standing with his back to the thankfully closed office door. He had wide, slightly furious eyes and his jaw was tensed.

Remus and Harry quickly backed away from each other with red faces. Harry was the first to speak.

"Sirius! You said you would be alright with this!" He pleaded nervously, no dice.

"No! I said I would be okay with you fancying him! Not you snogging him in our office!" Sirius shot back angrily. At this point Harry crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow.

"Well then where SHOULD we go to snog? Where would be good for YOU?" Harry asked, causing Sirius to sputter in disbelief. "Well sorry! But I just don't think bursting in here and shouting at us is any good!" He explained.

"What was I supposed to do?? You're my godson, for Merlin's sake! When I catch someone with their tongue in your mouth it's a natural response mechanism to start screaming and castrate that person!" Sirius replied tensely, causing Remus to gulp slightly, his eyes wide. "Oh calm down. I've known you for ages, Moony. I'm not going to rip off your manly bits with my bare sodding hands! But with ANYONE else??" Sirius said in an odd sort of comfort. Remus frowned.

"If anyone other than me had their tongue in Harry's mouth I would most likely rip off that persons outer sexual organs too." Remus replied, growling a bit.

"He's possessive! How cute!" Alice cooed from her spot in the room.

"WHAT IS WITH PEOPLE'S OBSESSION WITH REMUS' TONGUE IN MY MOUTH?? HIS TONGUE WAS NOT IN MY MOUTH!" Harry shouted. Sirius frowned at him. Harry sighed a bit and rolled his eyes. "Okay, his tongue was in my mouth." He sighed out, causing Sirius to sputter again.

The room was plunged into silence for several moments and Sirius slumped and flopped into the chair Remus had just been sitting in. Then with a stone face he turned to look solemnly at Remus.

"Have you ever touched him… Inappropriately?" Sirius asked stiffly. Alice burst into a short bout of laughter before clasping her hands over her mouth to stifle it. Harry blushed and slapped a hand over his face and Remus just looked utterly shocked.

"W-what?? Sirius! This is—"

"No, Remus. Answer. Have you taken my godsons virtue?" Sirius' replied, voice still stiff and face still grim.

"Virtue?" Alice snorted from her side of the room. This caused Remus and Sirius to look to her quickly, and then to look quickly at Harry. Harry himself was just frozen on the spot, being stared at with two intense eyes, Sirius' being shocked and angry and Remus' being both, but with a hint of jealousy.

"Harry… Have you…" Sirius began to ask slowly. Harry's eyes widened and he blushed wildly.

"No! I haven't! Alice is just being a berk!" Harry assured them. They both looked very relieved. After being told this Sirius turned his grim attentions back to Remus.

"So have you… Molested my godson?" Sirius asked.

"No! Sirius! He hasn't! We've only kissed! We only got together this morning!" Harry finally just shouted. Then he crossed his arms over his chest again and sighed a bit. "And if we had it wouldn't be molestation. Molestation is against someone's will." Sirius groaned and closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Remus took this moment to share a sly and slightly embarrassed look with Harry.

"Thank you, Harry. So you haven't done anything. Good." Then he looked up at Remus and gained his stern face again. "Have you thought about doing it?"

Remus blushed a bit and then frowned. He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed.

"Honestly? Yes. I have thought about buggering your godson! Just get over it! I like him, quite a bit and I'm quite under the impression that he feels the same!" Remus ranted, looking cross. The room was plunged into a shocked silence before Sirius' face turned dark.

"You are not to bugger my godson! No one is to bugger my godson! HE IS A-SEXUAL!" Sirius shot back, wagging his finger at Remus and standing up from his chair.  
"Sirius! We both know I'm not A-sexual! If I was, would I have told you about me having a crush on Remus a few days ago??" Harry retaliated. Sirius paused in thought before sighing dejectedly.

"You're still A-sexual, damn it." He muttered darkly. Remus sighed and his face softened.

"Sirius, have you even SEEN your godson?" He asked seriously. Then he waved one arm out to gesture widely. "He's absolutely GORGEOUS!" He said, causing Harry to blush deeply. "I assure you that once he comes out to the public there will be billions of people seeking to take his virtue! So isn't it good that it's me? One of your good friends, someone I always thought you trusted, and someone that you obviously like considering you've been friends with me since we were eleven."

"Yeah… I trust you, Moony. And of course I like you, you're my best friend." Sirius sighed out wearily. "But can you blame me for wanting to cause you vast amounts of pain right now?" There was a short silence before Remus shrugged.

"I suppose not." He said with a sigh.

Before anyone else can say anything more they all whipped around to watch in horror, as the door swung open.

"Professor Black? Are we going to start cla---" The boy trailed off and his wide eyes landed on Harry. Harry met his gaze with his own wide eyed stare. Then he looked past the boy to the dozens of other students sitting at the desks in the classroom and craning their necks to look past their fellow student and through the door. "BLOODY HELL!" the boy shrieked, "HARRY POTTER????"

The classroom is instantly filled with loud whispers and un-abashed shouts. The students all stood up from their seats to get better looks through the door.

"Bugger." Harry faintly heard Sirius mutter, "I knew there was a reason I had come in here in the first place…"

&HP&

Oh! Gasp! What next!!!

And by the way… The "HOUSE UNITY HUG SANDWICH! SLYTHERIN MEAT!" part was written at 3 AM after a long day of nearly no sleep or food, so forgive me if it's a bit TOO strange.


	18. Snilch

New chapter! My friends Danielle and Brittany have been telling me that I NEED to update quicker or they'll hurt me, and with friends like mine? They'll follow through with their threats. So… Here is my new update! Hurrah!

&HP&

"Sirius…" Harry began slowly, in a low voice. "You have no idea how much I want to kill you right now." He finished with a growl. Then, without taking his eyes from the shocked student practically vibrating with excitement in front of him, he began to back up a bit. He did take his eyes away when most of the class, through the office doors, began to stand up and come closer for better looks.

Harry's ears were being attacked by what seemed like hundreds of voices talking all at the same time. Some of them were talking to him, but with all of the noise he couldn't understand what they were saying. Others were merely gasping and shouting in shock and amazement to one another, or even just to themselves.

He could feel his heartbeat speed up and he knew he was breathing harder. Without another seconds pause he began backing up, trying to put some distance between him and the noise and commotion.

Suddenly Remus was in front of him, holding out his arms and making himself a sort of shield from the frenzying students. Harry hunched behind him, trying to be put even more out of sight, and gripped the back of his robes tightly.

Out of the corner of his eye he say that Alice's natural elf instincts had taken hold automatically when the first student had entered the room. He could sense her back in the hiding spot that they had been in when Remus had entered the office. The hiding spot was incidentally just behind him now, close enough that she was able to rest her hand on his back, comforting him. He reached behind himself and felt Alice grip his hand in return.

Harry knew she was just as scared as he was… Well, not scared exactly, but more like overwhelmed. She was even less accustomed to being around so many people, especially noisy ones. Harry may have only lived three years in the human world, but he still had faint memories of that loud, crowded orphanage full of kids and nuns. He slightly recalled the way that the other children would talk loudly and torment him. He was slightly familiar with such frantic attention all on him. But even with that slight, faint, familiarity, it was making him well past nervous. He could only imagine how this must feel for poor, sheltered Alice. He was only glad she had managed to hide without being noticed.

Remus turned around to face him and Harry met his worried but warm gold eyes. Harry instantly felt calmer as Remus stared at him with a tense smile. His hands rose up to land on his shoulders.

"It's okay, Harry." He whispered, the words somehow making it to Harry's ears over the noise.

Past Remus' shoulder Harry could see Sirius ushering that one first student out the door. He could see Sirius herding the reluctant students further back and he could hear him shouting at them to calm down and back away.

"We're going to have to get you out of here. We would just lock you in here for the rest of the class period but if the students knew you were still in here they wouldn't calm down." Remus told him calmly. "I'm going to help you out into the hall. Sirius will keep them in control, okay?" Harry nodded shakily, trying to ignore the still constant noise outside and the nervousness twisting his gut.

Remus then broke their eye contact to look past him at Alice, still hidden securely. Harry registered him telling her that he would lock the door after him and that the grounds should be empty for her to get back. He didn't pay much attention though; he was looking past Remus' shoulder and out the still open door, where he could see his Godfather trying to gain control of the class.

Then Remus had his attention back on him. He looked him straight in the eye and didn't say anything. He didn't really have to; Harry understood what he was asking.

"Are you ready?"

Harry nodded shakily in reply and took a steadying breath. Remus stood on his left side. Next he wrapped one arm around his shoulder and gripped his upper arm with the other. Then he led them quickly towards and through the office door.

The next moments were a blur. He was aware of Remus' warm presence at his side as he led them at a speed where they were practically running through the loud classroom. He also caught a glance of Sirius standing tall with his arms out, keeping the herd of students back; Harry would have to thank him profusely later on.

Soon enough Harry came back into the present. He was somehow all the way back at the common room Sirius, Remus, and he shared. Remus was standing in front of him, holding his face gently in his hands. He was looking worriedly into his eyes and seemed to have been trying to get his attention.

"Yes?" Harry breathed out, still trying to get his wits about him. Remus let out a loud whoosh of air and pulled Harry close, holding him tightly in his arms.

"Thank Merlin!" He breathed out in a relieved tone. "If you had kept on standing there with that blank look on your face I think I'd have had a nervous fit!" Harry moved his arms to return the hug and leaned his head onto Remus' shoulder.

"Sorry… I was just a bit overwhelmed." He murmured into Remus' robes. He felt the arms around him tighten and the face next to him nuzzle his neck slightly.

"I imagine you were," He began softly. "I'm sorry that had to happen. And just so you know, the students aren't all that bad… They're just a bit…. Overwhelmed as well. I know you don't like to think of it this way, but you were a symbol in the war. When you survived that night years ago, when Voldemort was defeated…

"The knowledge that you had survived was what gave people hope during the war, and when you "died" people felt as if a bit of that hope they had found had died as well. Now that you're alive again… People are so happy. They can't really believe it." Remus explained sadly.

Harry remained silent for a while, not really wanting to do anything but revel in the warmth of the arms around him. He didn't quite know what to say to all of this, he didn't know how to react. Finally he spoke.

"What happened to Alice?" He asked.

"None of the students seemed to spot her, she hid herself before they could see her. So I told her that I'd lock the door after we left and she said she'd sneak out the window, back to the grove." Remus replied. Then he pulled back to look Harry in the eye. "Do you want to go to your room?" He asked.

Harry blushed a bit and smiled slyly at Remus.

"Just what are you suggesting?" He murmured in a low tone, looking at Remus through half-lidded eyes. Remus blushed deeply and began to laugh a bit.

"Oh shush, you!" He admonished. "I was just suggesting you have a lie down; you could use a rest." Harry began to pout, though he was obviously hiding a smile.

"Well that's boring." He sighed out. Remus laughed again and leaned down to peck him on the lips.

"Well excuse me if I'm a bit reluctant to do something that will give Padfoot reason to emasculate me in the most painful way possible." Remus replied, causing Harry to laugh. He grabbed the laughing boy by the hand and began to lead him to the rooms. "Come on, let's get you some rest."

They entered Harry's room and Remus nudged him, encouraging him to lie down. Harry complied willingly and pulled the blanket over himself. Then he looked tiredly up at Remus.

"Will you at least lie down with me?" He asked in a quiet voice. Remus smiled at him.

"I have a class to teach." He reminded Harry.

"But you have another teacher to do that… And I doubt there will be much teaching in that class today. After all, there was quite a ruckus caused by that damn Potter boy." Harry replied cheekily. Remus laughed and climbed into bed and under the covers.

"I suppose I HAVE to stay here. After all, I have to be here to comfort you." Remus mused as he pulled Harry closer.

"Exactly." Harry murmured sleepily, resting his head on Remus' shoulder and getting comfortable in the older man's arms. "I could get used to this." He yawned out before dozing off.

'So could I.' Remus thought to himself, starting to drift off as well.

&HP&

Hermione walked into the great hall for dinner. She dragged her feet slightly even though she usually hated when people did that; I mean it made the most obnoxious scraping noise and who is really so lazy that they can't lift their feet at least half a centimeter? However, at the moment she couldn't care less. She was feeling horrible; how could she do that to Harry? She wouldn't blame him if he never spoke to her again!

Ron was walking next to her and also seemed rather guilty. They were both slowly making a beeline for where Ginny was sitting at the Gryffindor table, picking slightly at her food. She looked up as they sat down next to her and offered them a slightly strained smile.

Hermione thought back to earlier this morning when they had gone to talk to Harry. She couldn't help but smile and blush a bit. She was at least glad that Harry seemed to have gotten up some courage or something. Obviously something had happened that had led to the quite passionate looking snog session they had walked in on between him and Professor Lupin. She also had to admit that she agreed a bit with Ginny; that was indeed VERY hot.

Hermione suddenly glanced up from her plate. The great hall was buzzing with whispered conversation more than it usually was. She tried to listen and caught bits of conversation. Whispered words like "Harry Potter" and "alive". Hermione rolled her eyes; of course they would still be gossiping about poor Harry. She just wished they would drop it, she felt guilty enough without thinking what the public could be spreading around.

Just then Professor Dumbledore stood up at the head table and cleared his throat. As usual, the simple act done by the headmaster quieted down the whole great hall within seconds. Once it was quiet Dumbledore glanced around at the students watching him before speaking.

"I have heard some interesting news from Professor Black a bit before dinner started." He began calmly. This caused Hermione to glance to where Remus and Sirius usually sat; she found both of them mysteriously absent. "According to him there was quite a ruckus caused in one of his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes today." He continued.

The great hall filled once again with frantic whispers. Hermione looked around at her peers urgently, she spotted Ron and Ginny doing the same thing. The hall was silenced when Dumbledore cleared his throat once more.

"Professor Black began class by entering his office to fetch Professor Lupin, and after a while of waiting a student rose and opened to door to see what was taking so long. This was when he noticed that Professors Black and Lupin were not alone in their office." The hall filled with a short but loud buzz of whispered words once more and Hermione got a sinking feeling in her gut.

"Harry Potter was in the office with them." Dumbledore said, confirming Hermione's fear.

She shared a worried look with Ron and Ginny. She expected the whole hall to begin talking again but was surprised to find that the large room was dead silent. She looked around and found that everyone seemed to be holding their breath, wanting desperately to hear more.

"I imagine many of you have heard this news from your fellow students already and I am here to confirm that this is indeed not just a rumor. Harry Potter is indeed alive, as it says in the Daily Prophet, and he is in the castle," Dumbledore told them calmly. Hermione was once again shocked to find the hall remained completely silent. She could see that many students had let out breaths and even a few girls teared up a bit, but no one spoke.

"I have met and spoken with Harry. As it said in the Prophet, Harry was indeed taken from an orphanage by Elves when he was three. He has been raised in the Forbidden Forest by the Elves and he has only recently discovered the belief in our world that he was dead. He has only just discovered that he has a form of family here, his Godfather Sirius Black. Based on these discoveries he has decided to slowly but surely emerge himself back into the wizarding world."

Dumbledore paused at this point. He looked over the crowd once more, this time his eyes firmer than usual. He took on a stern appearance and continued his speech.

"Keep in mind that I have said 'slowly but surely'." He told them. "Mr. Black told me that, earlier today, when his class saw Mr. Potter they went into a bit of a frenzy. I would like to take this moment to remind you all that Mr. Potter wasn't aware of the extent of his fame in this world. He is unused to large groups of people and therefore is easily frightened by the discourse and low levels of self control the students in Professor Black's class have shown." He stated firmly.

Hermione glanced around and found several students, no doubt the ones in the class mentioned, looking rather guilty. She hoped they did feel guilty.

"I will not allow such behavior." Dumbledore told them, keeping his stern tone. "Mr. Potter is not a sideshow attraction and he owes absolutely nothing to any of us. He is a PERSON and he will be treated as such. Now I cannot begin to admonish or control the press. I know they will not view him as a person but rather as the icon they have grown to know him as. There is nothing I can do about them, but I am here to tell you all now that, as your headmaster, I will not tolerate that kind of behavior from my own students. And if that warning is not enough to convince you think of it like this: If you all continue the type of behavior shown in that classroom earlier today Mr. Potter won't have much reason to come fully into the wizarding world." He smiled at them, "With that said, I hope you enjoy the wonderful meal prepared for us!"

With that he sat down and began to do just that. Slowly but surely the hall began to fill with people eating their meals. For the most part everyone was fairly silent, seeming to think carefully about what had been said.

For her part Hermione looked terribly worried. She chewed on her lip and picked at her food. After a few tasteless bites she sighed and sat her fork down. Without bothering to explain she stood up from her seat and began walking from the great hall.

She walked down the empty corridors quickly and with purpose. She slowed a bit when Ron and Ginny jogged up to her side.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked. Hermione sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Sort of. I know he's mad at me, but I need to go make sure he's okay." She told them.

"Do you want us to come with you?" Ron asked. For some reason this broke something in Hermione. She stopped dead and turned to face them with a glare on her face.

"No! No I do not, Ronald Weasley!" She shot back bitterly. Ron and Ginny both looked rather shocked and shared a nervous look. "I don't think it's a very good idea considering this is all both of YOUR faults!" She spat out angrily.

"Wait just a second—"Ron began.

"No! You know it's true! You both MADE me tell you! Couldn't you both keep your noses in your own bloody business??" She interrupted angrily. Both Weasleys flinched, knowing that if Hermione was swearing she was VERY angry. They also had to admit that she was right. "And YOU!" She continued furiously, rounding on Ginny. "I thought you were my friend! I thought I could trust you with my secrets but NO! YOU TAKE THE BIGGEST SECRET I'VE EVER TOLD YOU AND USE IT TO BLACKMAIL ME!" She was shouting now, but she couldn't even be bothered to care.

"Hermione! I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me! I was just so worr—"Ginny began only to be interrupted once more.

"No! I don't care how worried you were! I can't believe you would use my bloody crush on Ron against me!" She shouted, causing Ginny's jaw to drop and Ron's eyes to bug out comically. Ginny began to sputter, looking between her fuming friend and her beetroot red brother. Hermione threw her hands in the air angrily. "I'm so furious right now I DON'T EVEN CARE!" And with those final, shouted words she turned on her heel and stormed off in a huff.

Ron and Ginny both stood silently in the empty hall, the furious stomping of their friend's footsteps fading away. After several moments Ron broke the silence.

"She has a crush on me?" He squeaked out. Ginny rolled her eyes and wearily ran a hand over her face,

"Yes, Ron. Everyone has known except you. Everyone has known since your first bloody year." She muttered without much tone. She turned sadly and began to make her slow way back to the Gryffindor common room. She was dragging her feet, trying not to when she remembered how much Hermione hated that.

&HP&

Harry was more warm and comfortable than he ever remembered being. He started to slowly wake up, a slight smile on his face, as he remained curled in the still sleeping werewolf's arms. He suddenly became aware of someone else in the room and sleepily glanced over to see Sirius. He was standing near the door, looking awkwardly irritated, as if he was uncomfortable with their position but didn't feel mean enough to wake them.

"Morning…" Harry yawned to him. Sirius glanced at him and grunted in response, sending the unsuspecting, sleeping wolf daggers with his eyes. "We're just sleeping, we didn't do anything. So don't neuter my boyfriend." Harry murmured tiredly, causing Sirius to smirk a bit.

"Boyfriend?" He asked, suddenly sobering. "Really?" He continued, looking slightly nervous.

This caused Harry to pause. Were they boyfriends? It certainly seemed like that. But the word 'boyfriend' seemed so juvenile. What's the adult word for it? Lover? Well that implied they were already sleeping together and if he implied that to Sirius he doubted there would be much of Remus left to call anything.

After a bit more musing Harry settled on the response of making a content noise and burrowing deeper under the warm covers. Sirius sighed and dropped into the chair next to Harry's desk.

"Do you really have a problem with this?" Harry asked meekly, peeking over the covers nervously. "If you do I'm sorry… I really don't want you to be upset with me… I have to admit I've grown quite fond of you… I mean… I've never REALLY had a father figure. Aeson and Ares have both always been like incredibly close uncles. So… I think as far as the father role… you're pretty much turning into it…" Harry admitted quietly. "I would hate it if I lost all of that because you don't approve of who I fancy."

"Oh, Harry…" Sirius began weakly. "You should know that would never happen. If anything my discomfort with this IS because of the father-son feeling. By the way, you have no idea how happy it makes me that you feel that way."

Harry smiled meekly and pulled himself carefully out of Remus' arms. He sat up fully on the bed and looked at his Godfather carefully.

"What is it really that has you so bothered about this?" He asked solemnly. Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Well… There is that thing that I don't like the idea of you snogging or (Merlin forbid) shagging ANYONE. The problem I have with Remus? Well… I guess because he's my best mate. And when it comes to anyone who ends up with you… If I find out that they're not serious about you… or if they end up hurting you, I'm obligated to hate them… but I don't know if I can hate Moony… So I'm torn…" Sirius paused to take a breath, looking almost relived that he had gotten all of that out.

"Well I don't think he'll hurt me." Harry said. Then he carefully got out of bed, trying not to wake his bed partner. "I'm sorry this is so awkward for you… I really am…" Harry continued, biting his lip nervously.

"Don't be." Sirius said. "I think things will be okay once I have a talk with him." Harry nodded, smiling shyly.

"I'm going to go make us some tea." He said, padding out of the room.

Once he was gone Sirius sat in the chair silently. Staring at the empty doorway.

"I wont." A voice murmured firmly. Sirius looked up quickly and found Remus, wide-awake in the bed, staring right at him.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"I wont hurt him. Not if I can help him." Remus replied. "And I'm very serious about him." He continued. The next part was said with a slight blush. "Very… Very serious…"

Sirius inspected him for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Good." He said. "I think we should still have a more in depth conversation." Remus nodded in agreement and they both grew silent, listening to the sound of Harry moving about their tiny kitchen. They both let out a small sigh before they began their conversation.

&HP&

Harry continued searching through the cupboards. For some reason he was having the hardest time finding the bloody teapot. He could've sworn he had known his way around the kitchen by now; after all it was a rather tiny kitchen. I mean, it wasn't even a proper kitchen in any sense so how could something become lost in it? There are only so many places one can look!

Harry jumped at the sound of furious knocking on their front door. He stood tensely in the kitchen, not really wanting to go answer the door only to be mobbed by some students who have heard the news. Had the news spread already? How long had Remus and him been asleep?

The knocking was back and more insistent. Harry was saved from having to answer though as he saw Sirius rush by to the door. He waited silently in the kitchen (that wasn't even a kitchen but possibly a black hole that swallowed up teapots). He listened to Sirius open the door and greet the person on the other side of it.

"Hermione!" Harry heard Sirius' voice boom. "Come in, what's going on?"

"Is Harry here?" Hermione asked.

Now Harry knew that he was supposed to be mad at Hermione, so he should just ignore her and stay in the kitchen, but he wasn't able to ignore the nervous breathlessness in her voice. So with a small sigh he walked out of the kitchen.

"Yes?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms sternly, trying to seem unhappy with her, which he pretty much still was.

"Oh!" Hermione squeaked when she saw him. She moved like she wanted to rush over and hug him but seemed to notice his stance and held back guiltily. "I know you're mad at me but when I heard what had happened I had to come make sure you're okay." Hermione explained in one breath.

"Oh, right. Well I'm fine." Harry replied shortly. "It was a bit irritating that I had to deal with that before I was properly ready but hey, what can I do?" Hermione fidgeted awkwardly, biting her lip and drawing her eyes to the ground.

Sirius looked in between them both for a bit, obviously confused. Then, after a bit, he leaned against the now closed front door and crossed his arms.

"It bloody seems like I'm never here for anything." He muttered under his breath. "Right, so what did I miss?" He asked, obviously trying to hide his eagerness.

Harry looked at Sirius with a blank face and cold eyes, though they were obviously meant for Hermione. He raised an eyebrow coolly.

'Oh, haven't you heard?" He asked in a cold, casual voice. "Hermione is the reason that story made it to the papers."

Hermione opened her mouth to most likely retort but snapped it shut, looking as if she thought better of it for the moment. Sirius however looked livid.

"WHAT??" He boomed, causing Hermione to flinch. Sirius turned his furious eyes to the cringing, blushing Gryffindor. "YOU! I! HOW!" Sirius stuttered out loudly. "DETENTION! With… With… SNAPE! No! Filch! NO! YOU HAVE DETENTION WITH SNILCH!!!" Sirius screeched angrily. Harry raised an eyebrow, and even though Hermione looked both scared and ashamed she also looked confused.

"'Snilch'?" Harry asked curiously.

"The dreaded Snape-Filch monster created by the ultimate evil and sent to wander the dark halls of Hogwarts at night." Remus explained as he wandered from Harry's room, running a hand through his messy hair.

"O… k?" Harry replied, raising his eyebrow.

"Sirius created him one night two years ago after we watched the muggle movie 'Frankenstein'. Snilch is sort of a sewn together creature created when…I don't know, it has something to do with giant bears." Remus finished with a shrug and a yawn. Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes.

"No. The giant bears are a part of the story with McGonagall and Hooch's love child becoming Minister of Magic." Sirius explained as if it were obvious, "Snilch was created when there was a tragic (though not so much) potions explosion that destroyed Snape and Filch. Dumbledore was so distraught that he took the bits left of them both after the explosion and sewed them together, harnessing the power of lightning to bring it to life."

Hermione, though still frightened and embarrassed, looked slightly disgusted. Harry just stared with an incredulous look on his face. He blinked a few times and looked at Remus, who had taken a seat in a chair and looked completely unfazed, but slightly amused. He looked up and met Harry's expression, then he just grinned wickedly.

"And this man is your Godfather." He told him in a mock proud voice. Harry smirked a bit, sticking out his tongue.

"And YOU'VE been friends with him for how many years?" He retorted.

"I know…" Remus sighed out dramatically. Then he dropped the act and smirked. "Oh, and if you plan on sticking out your tongue you should know to put it to better use." Harry drew his tongue back in quickly, blushing deeply and laughing a bit.

"Oh shut up both of you!" Sirius shot back grumpily, pouting a bit. "And YOU!" He continued, pointing a finger at Remus. "Ew! No more discussing my godson's tongue and what you want him to do with it. It is inappropriate and it makes me want to hurt you, so quit it." Remus held up his hands in surrender and gained a "hey, whatever!" look to his face.

Harry glanced up when he heard Hermione giggle. He found her looking in between he and Remus with an absolutely glowing face. He was about to smile blushingly but triumphantly at her, wanting to share in the mini party he was sure was going on in her head. Then he remembered that he was mad and frowned instead. Unfortunately for Hermione this also drew Sirius' attention back to her.

"Oh!" He shouted in surprise and anger. Then he threw the accusing finger he had out at her. "SNILCH! I CONDEMN YOU TO SNILCH!" He cried angrily. Hermione drew back meekly.

"I didn't exactly tell the papers or anything!" She interrupted in her defense, "Ginny and Ron cornered me and blackmailed me into telling them in a panic, and some one must've overheard!"

Sirius stared at her, his finger still pointing accusingly at her, and he was inspecting her with narrowed eyes over his nose, which he was raising slightly and breathing heavily through, as his mouth was a thin line. After a bit he deflated into a slightly less irritated Sirius.

"If that is the situation then I have misunderstood." He began, his voice tense. "So I don't condemn you to Snilch… quite yet… but I'm still not pleased with you…" He finished, crossing his arms and looking more grumpy rather than murderous.

"Good," Hermione breathed out, looking relieved. Then Hermione looked over at Harry nervously. "I still had to know how you were. I didn't hear about the DADA fiasco until dinner." Harry sighed a bit and rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I imagine it's the gossip of the school." Harry muttered darkly, dropping onto the couch they had in there.

Remus leaned from his chair and rubbed his back comfortingly. Sirius dropped onto the couch next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Harry once again felt that overwhelming thankfulness towards them. He was also thankful for Hermione since she was worried enough to face the possible wrath of an angry (sort of) elf in order to check on him. However, he didn't dwell on it, since the fact of the matter was that he was indeed supposed to be angry.

"Well yes, unfortunately." Hermione replied, biting her lip. "Dumbledore seemed to realize that students might search the castle for you if they had unconfirmed information that you were here." Harry flinched at the thought. "So he made an announcement confirming that you were here and the article was true. Then he chewed out the students in the class earlier for how they asked. Then he pretty much guilt tripped anyone out of acting like that ever again."

"Good, Alice and I always liked Bumblebee." Harry breathed out with a smile, leaning into Remus and Sirius' comforting hands.

The room was silent for a bit. Harry realized that Hermione wanted to say something else but felt nervous about saying it. Harry was tired and once again, still angry, so he just threw out the idea of giving her an opening to say whatever it was she wanted to say. If she really needed to say it she could damn well spit it out.

"Ron and Ginny wanted to come see if you were alright as well." And there it was.

Harry cracked open his eye to look at her, she was biting her lip and staring at him. He simply raised an eyebrow in response.

"They feel right awful, they never thought all his would happen when they cornered me. They didn't even think it had anything to do with another person really." She told him awkwardly. "But they didn't come because… Well, I kind of chewed them out when they followed me on the way here." Harry perked up a bit, interested.

"What did you say?" He asked. Hermione looked surprised at first, then pleased, then embarrassed.

"I shouted about how all of this was all their fault." She began pausing with a blush when Sirius grunted gruffly in what could've only been agreement. "Then I…" Hermione broke off there.

She let out a loud breath and plopped down in the vacant chair. She pressed her face in her hands and hunched her shoulders.

"I shouted at Ginny and told her I couldn't believe that she would use my crush on Ron against me." She let out another bitter sigh. "I shouted it right in front of Ron." Harry felt a bit of sharp sympathy for her. "Then he just stared at me like I was mad and I shouted at him that I was too angry to be even care." She breathed out, almost whining with misery and embarrassment.

Harry frowned. He may have been mad but she was still his friend. He could tell she wasn't faking or exaggerating her feelings or what she had done. That was pretty harsh. He couldn't imagine what he would feel like if that had happened with Remus.

"Bloody hell," he told her, causing her to look up with miserable eyes. "That's pretty bad. But if they can be so harsh as to blackmail you do you really fancy him all that much?" Hermione sighed, looking torn.

"I know I shouldn't want to ever talk to them again…" She told him, "But Ginny has been such a good friend, she was my first real friend in this school and she's still my only one aside from Luna, if you don't include the awkward sort of acquaintance thing with Ron… and Ron… I've fancied him for so long… It would be hard to just… drop it like that." Harry nodded in sympathy; he could see it from her side.

"I think I'll most definitely be giving them the cold shoulder for a while, if they're still talking to me…" She sighed out.

"They will." Harry assured her. "And if Ron isn't falling all over himself to get you to go out with him now then he's an utter berk." Hermione smiled widely at him and her eyes began to tear up.

"Does this mean you forgive me?" She asked meekly, looking hopeful. Harry sighed, studying her for a bit, and then eventually he sighed again and smiled.

"I wont be completely ignoring you." He told her, "I know that if you're ignoring your only real friends here, aside from one, and you just shouted at your crush that he was indeed your crush… You'll need someone." He told her, grinning a bit. She looked happy enough to cry.

"Thank you!" She breathed out happily. Harry took on a firm look again.

"But do keep in mind that you still suck." He told her seriously. She smiled sadly at him.

"Yeah," She replied, "I really do suck."

"Hell yeah you do." Sirius grumbled, finally speaking after quite a bit of silence. Remus maintained a bit of his reigning silence by simply humming in agreement, raising an eyebrow. Hermione laughed, her own eyebrows raised.

"Well then it's unanimous. I do utterly suck." Her response was met with more hums of agreement, causing her to laugh a bit.

"Just so you know, Alice knows about the whole situation and you should look out for her, she wants revenge." Harry informed her with a smirk. Hermione shivered.

"Bugger." She muttered under her breath, looking worried. "I'll deserve it though." She sighed out. Then she looked over Harry's shoulder, looking perplexed. "Is that my quill on the table? I thought I lost it earlier today…"

&HP&

Ta-Dow. I'm tired. So that's it. Get over it and just enjoy it, damnit. Review… REVIEW!!!! OR SNILCH WILL COME TO YOUR HOUSE AND… AND… uh… HE SHALL EAT ALL YOUR FOOD AND LEAVE ALL THE SOILED DISHES ALL OVER THE KITCHEN AND HOUSE! OHHHHH! BE FOREWARNED!!!


	19. WHAT? WHY IS SHE NAKED?

Right, so it's taken me forever to update. Shame on me. Shame, shame, shame. But whatever, onward to the fic!

&HP&

Severus Snape knelt on the cold wooden, his black cloak heavy on his shoulders and his white mask cold against his face. The room was dark and nearly empty, but would anyone expect any less from a lair of doom?

Snape looked up as the snake-like creature at the front of the room beconed him forward. He stood and moved to the Dark Lord's throne, dropping once more to his knees.

"Ssseveruss…" Voldemort hissed. "I have reason to believe that you are no longer loyal to me…"

Severus began to sweat under his mask, but he fought against letting his body tense up. There was no way that the Dark Lord could suspect him of treachery, he had been so careful!

"Tell me, Ssseveruss…" The vile wizard began, standing from his throne and looking even more imposing. "Whom do you belong to?"

"I belong to you, my lord." Severus responded automatically, forcing awe and worship into his voice. He barely heard the spoken curse before his world was wrapped up in pain.

"NO, you FOOL!" Voldemort shouted angrily, "YOU DON'T BELONG TO ME! AND YOU CERTAINLY DON'T BELONG TO SARA EITHER!!! NONE OF US DO!"

The curse ended and Severus fell to his side, panting and shaking. He swallowed thickly as the Dark Lord took his seat.

"So whom do you belong to, Ssseverusss?" He hissed coolly.

"J.K. Rowling, my lord." Severus replied, pulling himself to his knees and staring shakily at the floor once more. "The Harry Potter stories and all characters in them belong to J.K. Rowling."

Voldemort leaned back in his throne, smirking widely. He rested his elbows on the arm rests and peered with his silently cackling red eyes over his long, thin, steepled fingers.

"Excellent." He purred.

"And that belongs to 'The Simpsons'." Severus mumbled.

&HP&

Ta-Da! Really long but hopefully amusing disclaimer! Now ONTO THE REAL STORY!!!

&HP&

The great hall was noisy as usual. Surprisingly enough, one of the usually loudest people in the great hall was completely silent. That's right, Ronald Weasley was sitting silently with his sister, both of them picking at their food disinterestedly as their friends chatted around them. Ron had an elbow on the table, propped to hold his head up as he stared dejectedly at nothing.

Seamus Finnigan suddenly finished whatever story he was telling, grand arm gestures included, and everyone around him began to laugh uproariously, everyone except Ron and Ginny. Ron just sighed noiselessly from his nose and continued pushing eggs around his plate. Ginny fiddled with her goblet for a moment before casting a sad glance down the table, where Hermione Granger sat by herself.

Hermione was sitting with a straight back, as usual, and ate calmly, one hand resting on an open book as her eyes scanned the pages. She raised decently sized forkfuls of food to her mouth slowly as she read, careful to not get any food even close to falling on the pages she held.

"Oy!" Seamus suddenly said, leaning across the table to rap his knuckles on Ron's head a few times. Ron flinched back and sent him a glare.

"Sod off, Seamus." He muttered without too much actual venom. He rubbed his head and lowered his eyes to his plate again.

"Well sorry, Ron, old chap. But I did call you and Ginny's names about five times." Seamus replied. He was grinning widely but the people who knew him could tell he was a bit concerned.

"Oh…" Ginny murmured, blushing a bit. The three of them sat in silence for a bit.

"Right, that's it! What's going on with you two?" Seamus finally asked, throwing his hands into the air dramatically and nearly smacking the fork full of food from Neville's hand.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked boredly. Seamus just sighed loudly and rolled his eyes in an exaggerated gesture.

"Oh don't even try that!" He began. "You two are both so quiet! And Ron, you always laugh when I tell my story about my angry drunk uncle Murray and the cow! So spill! What's going on?"

The area of the table was plunged into relative silence again, as much silence as a dinning hall of teenagers can contain at least. Ron and Ginny sighed, glancing at one another before peeking looks down the table at their bushy haired friend.

"Hermione isn't talking to us." Ginny finally said. "We got into a fight… A fairly big one."

Seamus sparred them a sympathetic glance, letting his eyes wander down the table to the brown haired girl as well. Before he or anyone else could speak up in sympathy or maybe ask them what the fight was about, Ron spoke again.

"Did any of you know that Hermione had a crush on me?"

Ron bit his lip as he finished, glancing around at his friends with curiosity shinning over his previous melancholy. Then there was a sudden burst of laughter from all of his friends.

"Are you kidding me, Mate??" Dean asked between laughter. "Who DIDN'T know she fancied you? Aside from your oblivious arse, that is." Ron's eyebrows shot to his hairline.

"Yeah," Neville picked up with a shy smile and a light shrug. "She's fancied you for years, mate, at least since third year. Anyone could have told you that."

"Third year?" Lavender piped up, setting down her goblet after having taken a sip. "I don't know, she seemed more affected by Ron's barbs than by anyone else's even way back in first year. She even seemed to take them worse than Malfoy's quips. I personally think that that means something. I think she's fancied him all along."

"Me too." Pravati added.

"First year?" Seamus asked, staring at the two girls with furrowed brows. "are you sure? I thought she got the crush in third year?" Lavender huffed out a breath and stuck her nose in the air slightly.

"Yes we're SURE!" She replied, sounding offended. "We're GIRLS aren't we? We know these things!"

Dean's face scrunched up at that comment and he let out a sigh. Shaking his head again he began to speak.

" 'We're girls, we know these things'?" He repeated. "Why is that always the answer when you try to debate anything with a girl? 'Trust us, we KNOW these things'."

"Well, girls know everything." Lavender replied. Seamus snorted, looking a bit irritated, as any boy usually does when confronted by a woman claiming to know and see everything.

"Really then? What's the scoring average of the German quidditch team?" He asked with a condescending smirk. Lavender rolled her eyes along with Pravati.

"We know everything that MATTERS!" Pravati retorted, sounding irritated.

"YOU'RE SAYING QUIDDITCH DOESN'T MATTER?" Seamus shouted, looking utterly shocked.

"No, quidditch matters just fine." Lavender told him calmly. "We know loads about quidditch. For instance, did you know that Victor Krum likes brown haired girls and the color blue?" She finished this sentence with a dreamy sigh.

"Oh!" Pravati cut in, "And did you know that that dreamy new French chaser is single and likes a girl who can cook?"

At this point both girls sighed again, looking starry eyed. Dean and Seamus stared at them with incredulous looks. They glanced at each other, their mouths hanging open.

"Girls are mental." Seamus muttered, shaking his head.

"We'll then lucky for you that you're never going to get a girlfriend!" Lavender cried, she and Pravati having been snapped out of their dreamy states.

"Lucky I'll never need one!" Seamus replied with a smug smirk, wrapping his arm securely around Dean's waist. Dean himself was blushing, but he still returned the gesture.

The two girls and Seamus continued to bicker but Ginny tuned them out, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. She turned her head to look at Ron. He seemed to be staring off into space, looking utterly dazed. She paused and had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as she realized that he must have completely left the room once Dean mentioned that Hermione fancied him forever.

She really didn't understand how her brother could be so oblivious to have not noticed a thing until Hermione almost literally shouted it into his face. Then she paused, staring at her brother a bit longer. No, on second thought, she wasn't too surprised that he was that dense. In fact, she thought that strangely enough, that seemed to be one of the things Hermione fancied about her brother. She snorted; they were both utterly daft.

"Ron?" A voice suddenly spoke, also seeming to ignore the three arguing people next to them. Ginny looked to see that it was Neville who had spoken.

The shy boy was now regarding Ron with a mixture of concern and amusement. He reached up and waved a hand in front of the red-headed boy's face, there was no response. Finally, Neville looked at Ginny with a raised eyebrow.

"How do we snap him out of it?" He asked. Ginny smiled at him and gave a sigh.

"Ron, Hermione's naked." Ginny said in a monotone voice. The reaction was instantaneous.

Ron shot to his feet, flailing slightly for balance as the backs of his calves encountered the bench he had been sitting on.

"WHAT??" He screeched. "WHY IS SHE NAKED??" His wide eyes darting down the table at Hermione.

Hermione was sitting where she had been sitting, and she was fully clothed as well. Professors Black and Lupin were standing by her seat; it looked as if the three of them had been conversing quietly before his outburst. That was when Ron realized that they were now staring at him with startled, confused eyes. That was when he realized that EVERYONE was staring at him. He realized that the hall was silent, and the tail end of his shouted words were still echoing out of existence around the massive room.

With an awkward cough, Ron slowly sank back down onto the bench. He turned his head to face forward and met the raised eyebrow looks from Seamus, Lavender and Pravati, whom had stopped arguing.He cleared his throat uncomfortably. He lowered his eyes to the table and picked up his fork, beginning to slowly eat his food.

"When were you naked?" Professor Black suddenly asked, glancing awkwardly at Hermione.

The girl in question flushed and stood from the table with a scowl on her face. She grabbed her bag and swung it over his shoulder.

"I have no more of a clue to what that was all about than you do." She told them firmly, walking from the hall. Professor Black and Professor Lupin glanced at each other before following her from the room.

The hall was still silent and all eyes were either trained on Ron's stiffly casual form or the now empty doorway Hermione had exited through. Even the teacher seemed frozen with forks and goblets halfway to their mouths or plates, too busy staring in confusion to lower their hands.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of silence, someone spoke; their voice echoing in the empty sounding hall.

"Well then!" Dumbledore said cheerfully, a wide smile on his face. "That was strange!" And with that he lowered his head a bit and continued to cut off pieces of chicken and raise them to his mouth. His cheerful, familiar humming continued to be the only sound in the room for a bit longer, aside from the clinking of his silverwear on his plate.

Then conversations and the clinking of utensils began to trickle back into the great hall, the words and jokes a bit awkward due to the interruption. Ron had never been happier than when the great hall finally returned to its normal noise level.

&HP&

"So," Sirius began slowly. "That crazy red head is the boy you fancy?" He asked. Hermione blushed and rolled her eyes.

"Yes." She muttered.

They, along with Remus, were walking down the hall towards the two professors' shared common room. Hermione seemed to have gotten a bit onto their better sides, though they did occasionally throw her cold looks and a snarky comment. Hermione was more than okay with this; it wasn't as if she didn't deserve every bit of it.

"And he as well as the girl sitting next to him are the ones who forced you into talking about Harry?" Remus asked, interrupting her train of throught.

"Yes." She replied, her tone taking on a bitter sound (though the bitterness was obviously not directed at either man walking beside her.

"They will have to be dealt with." Sirius commented with a cold, calm tone. Hermione looked to see him walking with a straight back and his firm eyes trained forward.

"You make it sound like you're going to kill them." She replied, only half-joking.

"It's tempting…" Sirius replied, and Hermione was relieved to see the sarcasticly amused look on his face. "But if I killed two of my students I would most likely get fired, and even though I'm crazy rich that would admittedly suck."

"Oh, Padfoot…" Remus cooed, a smirk on his face. "Are you actually admitting that you enjoy the sentimental high of teaching?" Sirius snorted.

"Of course I enjoy it!" He laughed out. "They're the next generation! As a teacher I have full access to corrupting them! That's brilliant if you ask me!" Remus rolled his eyes.

They all stopped as they reached the door to their rooms. No one moved to open the door and Hermione raised an eyebrow. She glanced at the two professors in confusion. Both looked utterly calm as they stood still, making no move towards the door handle.

"Aren't one of you going to open it?" She asked finally. Remus turned to her in surprise.

"What?" He asked.

"We can't open the door." Sirius piped up, stopping Hermione from saying anything. "You open it, our arms are full."

Silence stretched on for a bit longer. Hermione blinked owlishly as both Professors watched her calmly. She let Sirius' words sink in and let her eyes turn to look at his two empty arms that were folded casually behind his back.

"What do you mean?" She asked. "What are you holding?" Sirius scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Air." He told her, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Hermione frowned and turned her head to look at Remus, hoping for some break in insanity. She was extremely baffled as he just calmly watched her with a blank face.

"And what about you?" She asked.

"My arms are full with the burden of keeping Sirius from doing something terribly stupid that will get himself killed." Remus calmly stated.

She whipped her head around to look at Sirius again. He shrugged calmly and nodded.

"That's a full time job, you know." He said in a matter-of-fact way. "It's also bound to happen often. In fourth year Moony, Prongs, Wormtail, and I were in Care of Magical Creatures and I was bored so I spent the whole class throwing wadded up paper at the blast-ended skewrt we were supposed to be observing." Then Sirius lmoved his arms around to the front and pulled back one of his sleeves. "That's how I got this scar!" He stated proudly.

"He also got two dates and a massive bar of chocolate from that fiasco." Remus added. Then he frowned. "And it wasn't from some form of pity at his burn either. He somehow managed it as he was chased by the bloody thing."

"What?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I have no idea." Remus replied with a shrug. "We just ran to go help him after the thing broke from it's cage and chased him off. We eventually found him up in a tree at the edge of Hogsmade eating some chocolate and looking over two hastily written phone numbers from some girls named Stacy and Meg."

Hermione blinked again, looking over at Sirius. He had a wide grin and a distant look on his face.

"That goblin made a really strange noise… I didn't even know that they didn't LIKE water…" He muttered out faintly.

Hermione sighed and ran a hand over her face. Remus just kept standing still, watching Sirius with an amused look. She shook her head and reached out to grasp the door handle.

"You two are so incredibly strange." She told them in a low voice as she pulled open the door. "AHHHHHHHH!"

Hermione suddenly found herself laying down, her back pressed against the stone floor. She blinked dazedly at the ceiling; blinking away drops of whatever liquid had suddenly come rocketing out the doorway in a tidal wave that tackled her to the floor.

Hermione sat up slowly, now sitting in a puddle of strange, clear green liquid. There was roaring laughter surrounding her. She looked up to see a hysterically laughing Remus and Sirius walk through the door and into their common room. Hermione frowned and pushed herself to her feet.

She followed them sulkily. Inside the room she encountered an equally hysterical Harry and Alice. Also standing there was, strangely enough, a smug looking Severus Snape.

"Do I WANT to know what I was just soaked with?" She asked, wringing some if the liquid out of her hair.

"A nice little potion lent to us by one Professor Snape." Harry told her, smugly crossing his arms over his chest. Hermione looked to Professor Snape in surprise.

"I normally wouldn't have helped another living creature not in my house but I needed to test out my new potion on a human subject." Snape responded calmly.

Hermione gained a horrified look and choked on nothing. She quickly began wringing out her clothes.

"What exactly is this potion supposed to do?" She asked frantically. Snape just rolled his eyes a bit.

"Oh, calm down." He told her. "It's not going to kill, hurt, or mutilate you." She let out a slight sigh of relief. "It's designed after Veritaserum. It will cause you to randomly shout ot harmless but potentially humiliating secrets of yours." Hermione blanched.

"Hey, you told Harry's secret!" Alice told her, "So this is a pretty fair deal." Hermione sighed in resignation.

"So what sort of secrets will I be--- I'M AFRAID OF TURTLES!" Hermione squeaked and slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide as dinner plates.

Silence enveloped the room before Sirius and Alice both dissolved into laughter. Harry just smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"Turtles?" He asked. Hermione blushed deeply.

"One bit me when I was seven." She muttered back.

"Right… but turtles??"

"Bloody hell, Snape!" Sirius suddenly proclaimed through laughter. "I never thought that I would say this but: BRILLIANT!" Then he reached out and slapped a hand on the stoic Professors shoulder.

Snape jumped, obviously not having expected to be touched. Then the look on his face as he turned his eyes towards Sirius showed that he had expected a compliment from the infamous Sirius Black even less. Quickly his face changed to a sneer and he rolled his eyes.

"Well MERLIN, Black." Snape drawled out sarcastically, "Getting your approval IS one of my greatest dreams. I cannot express the glee I feel in this moment." Sirius snorted.

"Oh please, Snape!" Sirius replied, "You know that you think I'm fabulous!"

Snape scoffed and turned glaring eyes to look at the grinning man who still had one hand resting on his shoulder. They stared at each other for a long moment, neither man blinking or making a sound.

"Bloody hell!" Alice suddenly exclaimed. "Just kiss already!!"

All eyes were trained on the blond elf. She ignored everyone and just glared good-naturedly at the two black haired men in front of her. She crossed her arms over her chest with a huff, obviously expecting something.

"Gra!" Sirius squaked out.

He pulled his hand off of Snape's shoulder as if it had burned him. He stood stock-still, his arm still raising bent in the air and shaking a bit. He was starring at seemingly nothing with a horrified grimace on his face.

Snape hadn't moved an inch. He was simply staring at nothing with his face screwed up into an equally horrified expression. His arms were folded over his chest and his shoulders were tensely raised.

Then, without saying a word, Snape slowly unfolded his arms to let them hang tensely by his sides. Then he slowly and stiffly walked from the room. He walked through the still open door and into the empty hallway. He walked onward and rounded a corner, out of sight.

The silence stretched on for a bit longer, all eyes had turned from the empty hall to the still frozen Sirius.

"WHEN I WAS SEVEN I HAD A CRUSH ON SANTA CLAUSE!" Hermione suddenly shouted, causing everyone (aside from Sirius) to jump, but not move from the frozen dog animagus.

Then, after a moment Harry turned his head to look at her with an incredulous look on his face.

"What?" He asked.

&HP&

Ta-da. I know I'm lazy and I never update. That's why I'm so in love with every person who reads this and puts up with the ages it takes to get a new chapter.

By the way! Finished reading Deathly Hollows!!! It was sooo good! I won't say anything about it to avoid spoilerage. I can't believe it's over though! LE GASP!

Anyhoo. You know the deal, review!


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